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R 722  . L3  1920 
Lambuth,  Walter  Russell, 
1854- 

Medical  missions 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 
in  2016 


https://archive.org/details/medicalmissionstOOIamb 


MEDICAL  MISSIONS: 
THE  TWOFOLD  TASK 


% 


Operating  Room  in  Presbyterian  Hospital,  Miraj,  India.  Dr.  Vail  Operating  — See  page  128 


MEDICAL  MISSIONS: 
THE  TWOFOLD  TASK 


/ 


BY 


WALTER  R.  LAMBUTH,  M.  D.,  F.  R.  G.  S. 


FOURTEEN  YEARS  MISSIONARY  TO  CHINA  AND  JAPAN 
EIGHTEEN  YEARS  MISSIONARY  SECRETARY 


NEW  YORK 

STUDENT  VOLUNTEER  MOVEMENT 
FOR  FOREIGN  MISSIONS 
1920 


Copyright,  1920,  by 

STUDENT  VOLUNTEER  MOVEMENT 
FOR  FOREIGN  MISSIONS 


All  rights  reserved 


To 

Ms.  and  Mss.  William  C.  Ivey 
Whose 

Interest,  Gifts,  and  Intercession 
Have  Promoted 

The  Cause  of  Missions  in  Many  Lands 
and 

To  the  Heroic  Medical  Missionaries 
Who  Have  Devoted 
Their  Lives 
To  the  Twofold  Task 


PREFACE 

The  endeavor  in  this  book  has  been  to  place  the 
medical  missionary  and  his  work  on  the  high  level 
where  he  belongs.  His  is  no  mere  profession — it  is  a 
vocation.  He  goes  to  the  ends  of  the  earth  to  relieve 
suffering,  to  raise  the  standards  of  health,  to  restore 
shrunken  capacity,  to  increase  the  producing  power  of 
man,  to  bridge  the  chasm  between  the  religious  and 
the  secular,  and  to  teach  that  while  at  the  present 
there  is  “no  field  of  knowledge  which  has  not  been 
invaded  by  the  scientific  spirit’’,  in  the  future  there 
shall  be  no  field  of  need  which  shall  not  be  cultivated 
by  a sympathetic  ministry  to  the  body  and  the  soul 
of  man. 

The  book  has  been  written  under  the  constant  pres- 
sure of  administrative  duties.  The  writer  feels  much 
diffidence  in  sending  it  out,  but  it  has  been  a labor  of 
love.  It  goes  on  its  mission  with  an  earnest  prayer 
that  it  may  be  used  of  God  to  convince  many  young 
men  and  women  of  the  need,  the  opportunity  and  the 
joy  open  to  a life  lived  out  in  the  presence  and  by  the 
power  of  the  Great  Physician  who  came  to  seek  and 
to  save  the  lost. 


W.  R.  L. 


INTRODUCTION 

by 

William  H.  Welch,  M.  D.,  LL.  D. 

The  request  to  write  a few  introductory  words  to 
Bishop  Lambuth’s  book  on  “ Medical  Missions  ” af- 
fords me  a welcome  opportunity  to  express  apprecia- 
tion of  the  great  and  much-needed  service  which  he 
has  rendered  by  presenting  in  the  following  pages  so 
fully  and  clearly  and  in  so  interesting  a manner  the 
needs,  the  aims  and  the  results  of  medical  missions 
and  the  qualifications  to  be  desired  in  the  medical  mis- 
sionary. I am  glad  also  to  bear  my  personal  testimony, 
based  upon  observations  made  in  China  in  1915,  to 
the  vast  importance  of  the  work  of  the  medical  mis- 
sionary. This  work  has  demonstrated  not  only  its 
power  to  further  most  effectively  the  ultimate  end  of 
all  Christian  missionary  effort,  but  also  its  influence 
in  leading  the  people  into  the  paths  of  Western  edu- 
cation, science  and  civilization  and  thereby  promoting 
the  advancement  and  the  welfare  of  the  countries 
where  the  missionary  works. 

No  intelligent  and  sympathetic  observer  who  has 
had  opportunity  to  come  into  close  personal  contact 
with  medical  missionaries  in  their  fields  of  work  can 
fail  to  be  stirred  by  the  spirit  and  character  of  these 
devoted  men  and  women  and  to  be  impressed  with  the 
development  through  the  demands  of  their  professional 
and  missionary  work  of  the  finest  traits  of  heart  and 
mind,  with  the  large  service  which  they  are  rendering 
to  their  fellow-men  and  with  their  joy  in  this  service. 


INTRODUCTION 


I desire  to  endorse  most  emphatically  Bishop 
Lambuth’s  earnest  plea  for  better  equipment  of  medi- 
cal missions  and  for  the  best  and  most  thorough  pro- 
fessional training,  in  addition  to  other  qualifications 
which  he  describes,  of  those  who  enter  the  medical 
missionary  field.  “ It  were  better,”  he  says,  “ to  re- 
duce the  number  of  medical  missionaries  and  hospitals, 
much  as  they  are  needed,  than  to  discount  the  science 
of  medicine  and  lower  the  standards  of  efficiency  . . . 
the  highest  standards  must  be  maintained,  and  honest, 
thorough-going  methods  characterize  the  work  in  every 
department.  To  do  less,  is  to  write  ultimate  failure 
across  the  face  of  the  enterprise.” 

The  need  of  providing  better  opportunities  for  med- 
ical education  in  their  own  land  for  native  young  men 
and  women  is  also  urged  with  great  force  by  the 
author  of  this  useful  work,  for,  as  he  says,  “ ultimately 
the  physical  and  spiritual  redemption  of  every  mission 
land  will  rest  with  her  own  sons  and  daughters,  rather 
than  with  foreigners;  and  in  these  years  of  upheaval 
and  rapid  change  in  the  nations  of  the  East  no  more 
alluring  invitation  comes  to  the  Christian  West  than 
that  of  calling  out  and  training  large  numbers  of 
gifted,  devoted  young  men  and  women  who  will  be 
the  leaders  of  the  Christian  Church  in  those  lands. 
A special  encouragment  along  this  line  comes  to  medical 
work.” 

Especially  interesting  is  the  author’s  presentation 
of  the  “The  Challenge  of  the  Various  Fields”  for 
medical  missions.  In  speaking  of  China  he  says  that 
this  country  “ is  a challenge  to  the  largest  investment 
of  faith  and  life.  She  is  a giant  in  bulk,  but  no  less 
great  in  masterful  qualities  which  make  for  constitu- 
tional and  racial  perpetuity.  Though  hoary  with  age, 
she  is  no  spent  force.” 

Bishop  Lambuth  has  made  a most  valuable  and 


INTRODUCTION 


timely  contribution  to  the  literature  of  medical  mis- 
sions and  thereby  earned  the  gratitude  of  all  who  are 
interested  in  this  important  subject, — and  it  may  be 
confidently  predicted  that  the  number  of  those  actively 
interested  will  be  largely  increased  by  the  publication 
of  this  work. 


CONTENTS 


I.  The  Need 3 

II.  The  Missionary  Himself 33 

III.  The  Aim  and  Scope 53 

IV.  From  Candidate  to  Missionary 77 

V.  Master  Workmen  and  Their  Implements  . . 107 

VI.  Woman’s  Work  for  Woman 135 

VII.  The  Challenge 163 

VIII.  The  Secret  of  Power 193 

appendices 

A.  Some  Important  Questions  Answered  . 221 

B.  World  Statistics  of  Medical  Missions  . 225 

C.  Findings  of  the  Medical  Conference  of 

the  World  Missionary  Conference  . . 229 

D.  Important  Recommendations  From  the 

Mission  Field  Regarding  Medical 
Work 

Recommendations  of  the  Medical  Mis- 
sionary Association  of  China  . . . 236 

E.  Christian  Health  Education  in  China  . 242 

F.  Medical  Missionary  Societies  ....  247 

G.  Legal  Regulations  Regarding  the  Prac- 

tice of  Medicine  in  Various  Mission 
Lands 248 

H.  Bibliography . 253 

INDEX  259 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS 


Modern  Operating  Room  of  a Medical  Mis- 
sionary   Frontispiece 


FACING 

PAGE 

Cases  Familiar  to  the  Missionary  Doctor  ....  7 

Manikin  of  Old  School  of  Chinese  Doctors  ...  14 

Inoculation  Against  Bubonic  Plague,  India  ....  24 

Blind  Men  Going  to  Hospital 35 

A Chinese  Ambulance 39 

Fighting  Pneumonic  Plague  in  Manchuria  ....  54 

A Public  Health  Exhibit  in  China 71 

Outdoor  Surgery  in  Africa 94 

A Typical  Dispensary  Crowd,  India 121 

Church  General  Hospital,  Wuchang 127 

Maternity  Ward,  McLeod  Plospital,  Ceylon  ....  144 

Dr.  Mary  Stone  Operating 150 

Korean  Nurses  and  Patient 157 

Laboratory  in  Severance  Union  Medical  College,  Seoul  . 170 

A Missionary  Doctor  and  His  African  Competitor  . 177 


THE  NEED 


“ Our  hope  is  that  to  not  a few,  the  vision  of  opportunity 
will  become  the  call  to  service.” 

Dr.  R.  Fletcher  Moorshead. 

“ Pray  ye  the  Lord  of  the  harvest  to  send  forth  laborers 
. . . the  fields  are  whne  unto  the  harvest.” 


MEDICAL  MISSIONS: 

THE  TWOFOLD  TASK 

i 

THE  NEED 

A low  caravansary  lies  before  us  in  a rude  village 
of  Asia  minor.  In  the  dim  light  of  a sputtering 
candle  two  figures  are  silhouetted  bending  over  a third. 
The  first  is  Dr.  Henry  S.  West,  of  Yale,  missionary  of 
the  American  Board,  passing  through  the  village  after 
a hard  day’s  journey  on  horseback;  the  second,  a 
frightened  servant  ready  to  faint  at  the  sight  of  blood; 
the  third,  a poor  stranger,  in  the  same  inn,  exhausted 
and  ready  to  die  from  the  anguish  of  a strangulated 
hernia. 

Was  there  any  hesitation?  The  light  was  miserably 
poor,  the  assistant  was  incompetent,  no  anesthetic  was 
at  hand  and  there  was  every  chance  of  sepsis  develop- 
ing. The  doctor  could  not  speak  the  language  — it 
was  his  first  year  — and  if  the  patient  died  who  could 
explain  the  odds  to  the  dark  visaged,  scowling  Turks 
standing  back  there  in  the  shadow?  But  West  had 
come  under  Divine  orders.  Moreover,  he  was  a Yale 
man  and  Yale  sees  it  through.  And,  finally,  was  not 
this  a fellow-creature  suffering  unto  death?  There 
was  no  hesitation.  An  incision,  a swift  dissection,  a 
release  of  the  strangulated  viscus,  a compress  wrung 
out  of  hot  water,  a few  stitches,  a simple  dressing,  and 
the  work  was  done. 

Eighteen  years  of  service  followed.  Nineteen  young 
3 


4 MEDICAL  MISSIONS:  THE  TWOFOLD  TASK 


physicians  were  educated  under  his  hand.  So  thor- 
oughly was  the  work  done  that  after  they  had  been 
examined  by  the  medical  faculty,  an  unfriendly 
government  was  compelled  to  acknowledge  its  indebt- 
edness. Many  difficult  and  hazardous  journeys  on 
horseback  were  made.  Patients  thronged  his  clinics 
from  the  table  lands  and  remote  mountain  regions. 
He  performed  1,400  operations  on  the  eye,  and  150 
laparotomies.  Large  gifts  and  fees  were  often  paid, 
though  not  one  cent  found  its  way  to  the  doctor’s 
private  purse.  Such  a life  is  a convincing  apologetic 
of  Christianity,  a credit  to  the  medical  profession,  and 
an  honor  to  one’s  country. 

A large  and  distinguished  company  of  college  men 
and  women  have  chosen  life  careers  like  that  of  Henry 
West,  Little  imagination  is  called  for  to  understand 
the  rich  and  strategic  value  of  such  service.  It  is 
Christian  humanitarianism  raised  to  the  nth  power. 
It  is  a phase  of  the  world  work  of  Christianity  that  is 
today  receiving  a new  recognition.  One  cannot  wonder 
that  many  of  the  finest  Christian  students  in  North 
America  are  seeking  information  in  regard  to  the 
opportunity  it  presents  for  a life  investment,  the  quali- 
fications and  training  required,  the  facilities,  the  gen- 
eral conditions  under  which  the  work  is  done,  the 
relation  of  this  sendee  to  other  branches  of  foreign 
missionary  effort,  and  many  other  questions.  It  is  the 
aim  of  this  book  to  answer  a wide  range  of  such 
queries  and  to  give  a frank  and  intelligible  presentation 
of  medical  missionary  work  as  it  is  today.  In  this 
introductory  chapter  we  shall  try  to  estimate  the  need 
for  such  work. 

I.  Human  Misery  at  its  Depths 

Medical  missions  is  the  Great  Adventure  into  a 
world  of  desperate  need.  The  distinct  command  to 


THE  NEED 


o 


the  twelve,  to  the  seventy,  and  to  us  has  been  “ to  heal 
the  sick.”  It  is  also  one  of  the  credentials  of  Chris- 
tianity. Ours  is  a missionary  religion  and  one  of 
mercy.  It  sends  its  messengers  to  the  ends  of  the  earth 
on  errands  of  healing  and  help.  Its  spirit  prompts 
them  to  go  where  the  burdens  are  heaviest  and  the 
need  is  greatest.  Medical  missions,  therefore,  in  its 
efforts  in  behalf  of  the  individual,  the  community  and 
the  race,  does  its  work  in  regions  where  humanity  is 
found  at  its  deepest  depths  of  misery,  and  where  the 
people  suffer  and  die  from  sheer  neglect. 

Those  who  stand  in  greatest  need  of  medical  aid 
are  found  in  all  the  non-Christian  lands,  but  especially 
in  tropical  and  sub-tropical  areas.  This  is  true  of 
Syria,  Arabia,  Persia,  India,  Siam,  Burmah,  China, 
Korea,  the  islands  of  the  Pacific  and  Indian  Oceans, 
the  larger  part  of  Africa,  tropical  Mexico,  Central 
America  and  the  interior  of  South  America.  Most  of 
these  areas  are  subject  to  the  ravages  of  such  diseases 
as  cholera,  smallpox,  plague,  leprosy,  malaria,  dysen- 
tery, sleeping  sickness  and  yellow  fever.  There  is  at 
the  same  time  a disproportionate  supply  of  qualified 
physicians,  lack  of  intelligent  care  of  the  sick  and  an 
absence  of  means  for  the  prevention  of  disease.  In 
no  section  of  the  habitable  globe  are  sanitation  and 
preventive  medical  work  more  needed,  and  nowhere 
will  intelligent  effort  bring  larger  and  richer  results. 

Mrs.  Isabella  Bird  Bishop  wrote,  after  four  years  of 
travel  and  observation : “ The  alleviations  which  in 
Christian  countries  mitigate  the  suffering  of  the  dying, 
are  unknown  to  the  heathen  and  they  regard  death  as 
the  triumph  of  the  supposed  demon.  Amidst  beatings 
of  gongs,  drummings,  shoutings,  and  incantations,  with 
their  dying  thirst  unassuaged,  and  with  their  nostrils 
plugged  with  a mixture  of  aromatic  herbs  and  clay, 
or  with  mud  of  sacred  streams,  our  heathen  brothers 


6 MEDICAL  MISSIONS:  THE  TWOFOLD  TASK 


and  sisters  are  passing  in  an  unending,  ghastly,  re- 
proachful procession  into  Christless  graves.” 

The  mortality  in  non-Christian  lands  would  depopu- 
late France  in  a year,  Germany  in  two  years,  and  the 
United  States  in  less  than  three  years.  While  much  of 
this  is  due  to  natural  causes,  we  cannot  forget  that  pain 
has  no  alleviation,  sickness  is  in  the  midst  of  every 
discomfort,  and  death  too  often  takes  place  under  the 
most  harrowing  conditions. 

And  this  is  not  all.  We  cannot  forget  that 
for  all  of  this  misery  there  is  among  non-Christian 
peoples  a surprising  lack  of  sympathetic  concern  or 
attempt  at  alleviation.  After  years  of  personal  ob- 
servation and  contact  with  the  natives,  Joh.  Warneck 
remarks  of  animistic  peoples:  “You  may  go  through 
heathendom  anywhere,  in  the  Indian  archipelago,  in 
New  Guinea,  in  the  South  Seas,  and  in  Africa,  and 
you  will  nowhere  find  humanity,  mercy,  kindness  and 
love.” 

Take  one  example  from  the  writer’s  observation. 
Heathenism  along  the  stretches  of  the  Aruwimi, 
which  empties  into  the  Congo  at  its  great  'bend  north- 
westward, is  dark,  despairing  and  degraded  beyond 
description.  I found  the  sick  neglected,  the  weak  op- 
pressed, the  unfortunate  ridiculed,  and  the  aged  looked 
upon  as  an  intolerable  burden.  In  the  depths  of  those 
almost  impenetrable  forests  the  old  people  are  put  to 
death  when  they  become  helpless,  partly  to  save  them 
from  the  cruel  bite  of  the  driver  ants,  which  may 
come  in  the  absence  of  the  men  who  are  on  the  hunt 
for  game  and  of  the  women  who  are  tilling  the  fields, 
and  partly  to  relieve  the  living  of  their  care. 

The  lack  of  vigor  and  vitality  upon  the  part  of  native 
peoples  who  live  within  the  tropics  is  not  altogether 
accounted  for  by  climate.  They  suffer  from  diseases, 
unrelieved  by  medical  or  surgical  help,  which  reduce 


Elephantiasis 
Neglected  Tumor 


Group  of  Lepers 
Double  Amputation 


Cases  Familiar  to  the  Missionary  Doctor 


THE  NEED 


7 


resisting  power.  For  the  most  part,  they  lack  even  an 
elementary  knowledge  of  sanitation,  hygiene  and  diet 
values.  They  are  preyed  upon  by  fear,  which  saps 
vital  force  even  more  than  does  physical  pain.  The 
gospel  of  “ good  cheer,”  called  the  “ happy  sound  ” 
by  the  Chinese,  does  not  simply  bring  joy,  but,  with 
its  hopefulness,  brings  increased  vitality,  and  a 
stronger  hold  upon  those  forces  which  make  for 
sounder  health  and  higher  life.  We  have  come  to 
recognize  the  truth  that  the  work  of  the  missionary 
physician  in  restoring  people  to  good  health,  as  a basis 
for  sound  morals  and  religious  life,  is  as  necessary  as 
that  of  the  engineer  in  draining  swamps,  building 
sewers,  surveying  roads,  constructing  bridges,  and  fur- 
nishing many  other  material  essentials  of  modern 
civilization. 

II.  The  Diseases  of  the  Non-Christian  World 

Some  of  the  diseases  peculiar  to  mission  fields  are 
cholera  in  China,  India,  and  Arabia,  which  carries  off 
hundreds  of  thousands;  beriberi  in  Japan,  China,  and 
on  the  upper  Amazon ; sleeping  sickness,  which  in 
Central  Africa  and  in  Uganda  has  decimated  the  popu- 
lation ; hemorrhagic  and  other  deadly  fevers  along  the 
tributaries  of  the  Congo,  Niger  and  Zambesi;  and 
amoebic  dysentery  in  the  alluvial  valleys  of  the  Yangtse 
and  all  the  rivers  mentioned.  To  these  we  may  add 
pernicious  anemia,  hook-worm,  ophthalmia  (ptery- 
gium), diseases  of  the  lymphatics  and  of  the  blood 
caused  by  various  forms  of  filiaria  and  leprosy,  which 
prevails  in  almost  every  country  which  has  been  named. 
Added  to  this  list  are  indolent  ulcers  of  the  most 
stubborn  character,  tumors  grown  to  large  size  and 
many  deformities.  None  of  these  can  be  relieved  by 
native  doctors.  They  offer  a wide  field  for  study, 


8 MEDICAL  MISSIONS:  THE  TWOFOLD  TASK 


investigation  and  treatment  by  the  physician  or  sur- 
geon, and  for  care  by  the  trained  nurse  who  wishes  to 
cooperate  in  relieving  pain,  alleviating  misery  and 
saving  life.  In  addition  to  the  special  diseases  that 
have  been  mentioned,  all  the  ordinary  diseases  of  our 
own  lands  are  very  prevalent.  And  it  is  in  those  very 
regions,  moreover,  that  men  and  women  are  most  in 
need  of  ministry  to  the  soul,  as  well  as  to  the  body. 

In  a closer  study  of  the  fields  under  review,  from 
the  standpoint  of  a medical  missionary,  it  will  be  in- 
teresting to  note  some  of  the  predominating  diseases 
in  the  larger  areas  such  as  China,  India  and  Africa. 
It  is  the  opinion  of  Dr.  J.  R.  McDill,  who  has  devoted 
years  in  the  Orient  to  careful  investigation,  that  those 
which  predominate  in  China  are  tuberculosis,  syphilis 
and  intestinal  parasites,  and  that  these  affect  three- 
fourths  of  the  population.  He  thinks  that  when 
statistics  are  available,  malaria  will  also  be  found  in 
this  group.  Intestinal  parasites  are  probably  as 
common  in  China  as  in  India  or  Africa.  Dr.  W.  H. 
Park  found  men  of  twenty-five  with  hook-worm,  who 
had  the  stature  and  voice  of  boys  of  twelve. 

The  filiaria  loa,  which  travels  over  the  eyeball  under 
the  conjunctiva,  is  not  confined  to  Africa.  In  the  eye 
clinic  of  the  Union  Medical  College  Hospital,  Peking, 
a patient  produced  a small  bottle  containing  one  of 
these  worms  which  he  had  removed  with  a needle  from 
his  own  eye  two  days  before. 

In  sections  of  all  three  of  the  countries  mentioned, 
malarial  fevers  prevail,  dysentery  causes  great  mor- 
tality, diseases  of  the  eye  are  very  common,  typhus 
and  typhoid  fevers  scourge  the  country  and  leprosy  is 
endemic.  One  of  the  pupils  of  Confucius,  five  hun- 
dred years  before  Christ,  was  a leper.  Other  affec- 
tions, quite  common  in  certain  districts,  are  enlarge- 
ment of  the  spleen,  pernicious  anemia,  stricture  of  the 


THE  NEED 


9 


oesophagus,  and  goitre.  The  writer  had  a singular 
experience  in  North  China  while  travelling  in  a mule 
cart  along  the  Great  Wall.  It  was  growing  dark  when 
he  came  to  a small  village,  where,  according  to  custom, 
a majority  of  the  people  were  eating  their  supper  out 
of  doors,  bowl  and  chopsticks  in  hand.  Each  adult 
person  appeared  to  have  two  heads.  The  whole  scene 
was  so  ghoulish  and  weird  that  he  was  inclined  to 
doubt  his  owrn  senses.  Springing  to  the  ground,  he 
went  up  to  one  of  the  men,  felt  his  head,  and  found 
he  had  a goitre  under  the  chin  so  large  and  protuberant 
that  it  had  given  rise  to  the  illusion. 

Dr.  George  L.  Mackay  speaks  of  malarial  fever  on 
the  island  of  Formosa  as  man’s  deadliest  foe.  It 
works  terrible  havoc  among  the  inhabitants.  Many 
cases  under  his  observation  succumbed  during  the  hot 
season  within  a few  hours  after  the  attack  began.  The 
superstitious  natives  “ suppose  the  disease  to  be  caused 
by  the  patient  unluckily  treading  on  mock-money  put 
in  the  street,  or  on  the  roadside  by  priest  or  sorcerer ; 
or  by  a conflict  between  the  hot  and  cold  principles  in 
nature ; or  by  two  devils,  one  belonging  to  the  negative 
principle  in  nature  fanning  the  patient,  thus  causing 
the  chills,  and  the  other  belonging  to  the  positive  prin- 
ciple, blowing  a furnace  and  producing  heat  and  fever. 
But  to  mention  the  names  of  these  devils  would  be  to 
incur  their  displeasure,  and  so  the  people  never  use 
the  name  * chills  and  fever,’  but  call  it  * devils  fever, 
beggars  fever/  or  some  other  harmless  name.  ...  It 
is  not  an  uncommon  thing  in  Formosa  to  find  half  the 
inhabitants  of  a town  prostrated  by  malarial  fever  at 
once.  I have  seen  households  of  twenty  or  thirty  with 
not  one  able  to  do  any  work.  In  such  circumstances 
the  native  preachers,  living  in  the  midst  of  the  suf- 
ferers and  knowing  their  life,  are  able,  by  means  of 
foreign  medicine,  in  the  use  of  which  they  have  been 


10  MEDICAL  MISSIONS:  THE  TWOFOLD  TASK 


trained,  to  do  incalculable  service  to  afflicted  humanity 
and  so  to  commend  the  gospel  of  their  Master.”1 

Reference  should  be  made  to  certain  groups  in  non- 
Christian  lands  whose  needs  are  especially  appealing. 
Such  a group  are  the  helplessly  insane.  In  some 
countries  they  enjoy  special  privileges  as  being  favored 
of  the  gods  and  possessed  of  the  spirit  of  divination. 
This  is  true  of  the  North  American  Indians  and  of 
certain  African  tribes,  but  it  is  the  exception.  In 
China,  the  writer  was  called  to  attend  a young  Con- 
fucian  scholar  who  in  a fit  of  mental  aberration  had 
attempted  suicide.  After  the  gaping  wound  in  his 
throat  had  been  sewed  up,  the  family  were  given  in- 
structions about  his  nourishment.  Returning  the  fol- 
lowing day,  the  missionary  doctor  was  refused  ad- 
mittance. The  patient  was  starved  to  death  by  his 
own  people  who,  being  Buddhists,  would  probably 
have  cared  for  a cow,  but  were  willing  that  a demented 
brother  should  be  brought  to  death  by  slow  starvation. 

“ The  usual  method  of  dealing  with  lunatics  in 
Mosul,  Mesopotamia,”  writes  Dr.  A.  Hume-Griffith, 
“ is,  if  they  are  apparently  harmless,  that  they  are 
allowed  to  wander  about  freely  and  are  treated  kindly, 
but  once  they  develop  symptoms  of  mania,  they  are 
treated  as  wild  beasts,  put  in  a dark  room,  and  chained 
to  the  wall.  But  we  possess  a specialist  in  mental 
diseases  in  Mosul,  belonging  to  an  old  Mohammedan 
family,  who  has  a great  reputation  for  the  treatment  of 
lunatics.  In  the  court-yard  of  his  house  he  has  dug 
several  deep  wells,  and  beside  each  well  is  placed  a 
large  tub,  having  a hole  in  the  bottom  which  communi- 
cates with  the  well.  The  poor  madman  is  made  to 
work  from  sunrise  to  sunset,  drawing  water  from  the 


1 Mackay,  "From  Far  Formosa,”  pp.  312-314. 


THE  NEED 


ii 


well  and  pouring  it  into  the  perforated  tub,  being  told 
that  he  may  leave  off  when  he  has  filled  the  tub.”2 

The  leper  is  perhaps  the  most  appealing  figure  in 
the  non-Christian  world.  At  one  time  in  the  Telugu 
country,  with  a population  of  thirty  million,  there 
was  not  a place  of  refuge  for  the  hundreds  of  lepers  ; 
the  nearest  point  where  they  could  be  cared  for  was 
Madras,  350  miles  away.  The  latest  census  in  India 
gives  the  number  of  lepers  as  135,000,  a decided  in- 
crease. In  1909  the  Imperial  Medical  Department  at 
Tokyo  stated  that  there  were  28,000  families  in  Japan 
in  which  the  disease  was  known  to  exist.  While  there 
are  no  accurate  returns  for  China  it  is  probable  that 
the  proportionate  number  is  as  great,  or  nearly  200,000. 
Among  the  factors  favorable  to  the  spread  of  leprosy 
are  poor  food,  crowding,  filth,  a moist  climate  and 
failure  to  isolate  the  lepers. 

The  treatment  of  the  unfortunate  leper  is  often 
cruel  and  summary.  While  he  is  tolerated  in  some 
sections,  in  others  drastic  measures  have  'been  applied. 
A number  of  years  ago  the  mandarin  of  a certain  dis- 
trict in  China  made  a feast  and  invited  the  lepers  for 
miles  around.  Attracted  by  such  hospitality  the  un- 
suspecting victims  gathered  in  large  numbers.  In  the 
midst  of  the  meal  the  building  was  set  on  fire  and  those 
who  escaped  the  flames  were  shot  down  by  soldiers  on 
the  outside.  Dr.  Horder  of  Pakhoi,  South  China,  is 
responsible  for  the  statement  that  an  official  in  that 
section  put  three  hundred  lepers  to  death  during  his 
residence  of  two  years.  On  the  other  hand,  several 
institutions  have  been  established  by  the  Japanese  gov- 
ernment for  the  care  of  the  most  helpless  victims  of 
this  disease,  a fact  that  reflects  much  credit  upon  the 
progress  in  civilization  of  that  country. 

In  Cuba,  at  the  close  of  our  war  with  Spain,  I found 

2 Behind  the  Veil  in  Persia  and  Turkish  Arabia,  p.  326. 


i2  MEDICAL  MISSIONS:  THE  TWOFOLD  TASK 


five  Chinese  lepers  huddled  together  in  what  seemed 
to  be  an  outhouse  connected  with  a hospital  near  Cien- 
fuegos.  It  turned  out  to  be  an  abandoned  oven  for 
baking  bread,  on  the  floor  of  which  and  in  the  midst 
of  ashes,  the  poor  wretches  were  gathered,  far  from 
home  and  awaiting  death.  One  thinks  of  the  descrip- 
tion of  Dr.  Irvin  of  Fusan,  Korea,  where  in  response 
to  his  appeal,  an  asylum  was  established.  “ In  cold 
weather  they  crawl  into  the  fireplaces  after  they  are 
sufficiently  cool,  and  the  accumulation  of  filth  does  not 
add  to  their  health,  their  comfort  or  their  appearance. 
They  are  badly  clothed,  if  clothed  you  can  call  it.  They 
are  truly  outcasts,  despised  and  shunned  of  all  men.” 

As  if  the  disease  itself  were  not  enough,  the  Chinese 
have  fallen  upon  the  following  repugnant  remedy: 
“An  arsenical  pill  is  prepared  by  placing  the  crude 
Chinese  arsenious  acid  into  the  opened  abdomen  of  a 
frog.  After  stitching  the  wound,  the  frog  is  enclosed 
in  a clay  ball  molded  tight.  The  ball  is  placed  in 
burning  red-hot  charcoal,  when  the  frog  inside  the  ball 
is  reduced  to  ash  with  the  arsenic.”  The  residuum  is 
made  into  pills,  several  hundred  of  which  must  be 
taken  as  prescribed. 

The  blind,  the  deaf-mutes  and  all  afflicted  groups  in 
non-Christian  lands  are  in  an  equally  pitiable  condition 
of  neglect. 

III.  The  Lack  of  Native  Resources  for  Relief 

The  catalogue  of  diseases  given  above  is  distressing 
enough,  but  the  situation  is  rendered  yet  more  pathetic 
by  the  appalling  lack  of  native  resources  with  which  to 
deal  with  sickness  or  injur}'. 

Ignorance  of  the  principles  and  practice  of  surgery 
and  the  almost  utter  helplessness  of  the  native  practi- 
tioner in  non-Christian  lands,  when  brought  face  to 
face  with  emergencies,  are  notable.  He  has  no 


THE  NEED 


13 


anesthetic  with  which  to  deaden  pain  and  prevent 
shock,  and  no  knowledge  of  checking  hemorrhage  by 
the  tourniquet  or  by  the  ligation  of  arteries.  The  only 
thing  he  can  do  in  such  a case  is  to  apply  the  actual 
cautery — red  hot  iron — or  plaster  the  wound  with 
substances  which  cause  inflammation  and  even  gan- 
grene. He  has  no  antiseptic  for  dressing  wounds,  nor 
is  there  any  adequate  idea  of  setting  a fractured  bone 
or  of  preparing  splints  with  which  to  keep  the  limb 
immovable.  Without  a knowledge  of  anatomy,  he 
allows  the  fractured  ends  to  reunite  as  best  they  can, 
often  resulting  in  a crooked  or  shortened  limb.  As 
to  dislocations  they  frequently  become  ankylosed. 
Tumors  continue  to  grow  without  removal,  causing 
much  suffering  and  ultimately  death.  I knew  a Chinese 
who  had  so  large  a tumor  growing  from  the  small  of 
his  back  that  it  had  to  be  carried  in  a basket,  the 
handle  of  which  was  fastened  to  a strap  running  over 
his  shoulder.  Where  “ in  the  field  of  surgery  the  bar- 
ber is  still  the  great  practitioner,”  what  relief  can  be 
expected,  especially  in  those  cases  in  which  expert 
knowledge  and  skill  in  the  use  of  the  most  scientifically 
devised  instruments  are  required? 

A typical  instance  of  the  ignorance  of  the  native 
“ doctor  ” is  reported  from  China.  The  Chinese  suffer 
much  from  indigestion,  partly  because  of  bolting  their 
food  and  from  mixing  tea  and  rice,  which  causes  fer- 
mentation. After  the  remedy  for  leprosy  just  men- 
tioned one  might  expect  almost  anything  for  indiges- 
tion. A patient  was  advised  by  his  doctor,  to  eat 
powdered  millstone  for  this  ailment,  on  the  theory  of 
gravel  in  the  gizzard  of  a chicken  being  an  aid  to 
digestion.  He  ate  sixty  pounds,  got  no  better,  and 
gave  it  up.  He  was  then  advised  by  another  wiseacre 
to  eat  cinnamon  bark  and  finished  forty  pounds  of 
that  before  he  quit  in  disgust.  There  can  be  little 


14  MEDICAL  MISSIONS:  THE  TWOFOLD  TASK 


question  concerning  the  patience  of  the  Chinese  and 
the  strength  of  his  stomach. 

The  uttter  absence  of  a knowledge  of  nursing  and 
of  preparation  of  food  for  the  sick,  reduces  the  prob- 
ability of  recovery.  Insomnia  and  nervousness  cannot 
be  overcome  and  lack  of  the  comforts  found  in  the 
smallest  hospital  in  a Christian  land  results  in  the 
lowering  of  vitality  and  the  loss  of  life. 

When  to  the  foregoing  conditions  we  add  the  vague 
theories  concerning  the  causation  and  treatment  of 
disease,  it  is  not  surprising  that  the  native  practitioner 
is  at  sea.  He  may  have  some  knowledge  of  symptoms, 
but  he  has  little  or  none  in  regard  to  scientific  diagnosis, 
methods  of  prevention  and  means  of  cure.  This  ex- 
plains the  timidity  which  prevails  in  making  any  attempt 
at  surgical  operations.  On  the  other  hand,  the  use  of 
acupuncture  by  the  Chinese  and  the  Koreans  is  an 
exemplification  of  the  old  adage,  “ Fools  rush  in  where 
angels  fear  to  tread.”  This  sometimes  results  fatally, 
or  is  followed  by  infection  and  aggravated  suffering 
through  the  insertion  of  long  iron  needles  into  the 
joints,  the  abdomen  and  other  vulnerable  parts  of  the 
body.  Finally,  there  is  the  lack  of  means  for  com- 
batting disease  on  account  of  ignorance  of  pathological 
processes.  Native  practitioners  are  devoid  of  any 
equipment  for  studying  bacteriology  and  indeed  of 
any  ideas  on  the  subject. 

The  Oriental  system  of  medicine,  if  one  may  call  it 
a system,  is  based  upon  a philosophy  which  is  more 
antiquated  than  practical.  According  to  the  ideas  of 
the  Chinese  medical  faculty,  “ a dual  system  of  heat 
and  cold  pervades  the  human  frame,  and  when  one  of 
these  constituents  is  in  excess,  illness  supervenes.  The 
heart  is  the  husband  and  the  lungs  are  the  wife,  and 
if  these  two  main  organs  cannot  be  brought  to  act  in 
harmony  evil  at  once  arises.”  Dr.  Mackay  in  writing 


Manikin  Used  by  Chinese  Doctors  of  the  Old  School 

Needles  Show  Where  Punctures  Would  Not  Be  Fatal 


THE  NEED 


15 


from  Formosa,  indicates  that  the  heart  and  liver  are 
supposed  to  produce  the  different  states  of  the  pulse, 
and  that  it  is  believed  by  the  native  physicians  that 
“ the  heart  has  seven  openings  through  which  wind 
and  an  evil  principle  enter,  causing  these  changes  in 
the  pulse.  Diseases  differ  according  to  the  seasons  of 
the  year.  Those  of  the  spring  are  supposed  to  be 
caused  by  the  liver,  those  of  the  summer  by  the  heart, 
those  of  the  autumn  by  the  lungs,  and  those  of  the 
winter  by  the  kidneys.” 

How  can  the  health  of  non-Christian  lands  be  im- 
proved through  practitioners  possessed  of  such  theo- 
ries? They  are  credulous,  because  the  very  absence 
of  faith  opens  the  way  to  believe  in  anything,  however 
absurd.  They  are  childish  in  their  thinking  and  fail 
to  recognize  the  sequence  of  cause  and  effect.  Their 
fear  of  evil  spirits,  rooted  as  it  is  in  animism,  results 
in  mental  paralysis  and  fatalism.  Their  perversion  of 
the  truth  comes  from  ignorance  and  from  the  very 
inversion  of  the  order  of  nature,  with  the  consequence 
that  all  that  is  marvelous  is  magnified,  and  all  that  is 
real  is  minified. 

Upon  the  other  hand,  after  all  that  has  been  said 
about  the  crude  notions  and  practice  of  those  living 
under  a different  order  of  civilization  from  our  own, 
one  must  have  a respect  for  a people  who  began  their 
medical  studies  in  remote  antiquity.  “ The  Chinese 
began  2700  years  B.  C.,”  writes  Dr.  I.  T.  Headland,  “ to 
experiment  with  herbs  in  the  treatment  of  disease,  and 
have  discovered  and  used  for  centuries,  many  of  the 
common  physics,  astringents  and  other  household 
remedies  which  cur  mothers  and  grandmothers  used. 
Chinese  medicine  is  still  what  our  medicine  would  be 
without  medical  colleges  or  systematic  instruction.” 

Their  failure  to  be  abreast  of  the  times  is  not  due 
so  much  to  a lack  of  intelligence  as  to  the  effect  of 


16  MEDICAL  MISSIONS:  THE  TWOFOLD  TASK 


their  system  of  philosophy,  the  nature  of  their  re- 
ligious belief,  and  to  the  absence  of  the  liberalizing 
influence  of  Christianity.  Had  Bacon,  Harvey,  and 
their  methods  of  reasoning  and  experimentation  been 
known  in  China  the  results  might  have  been  very  dif- 
ferent. As  it  is,  it  is  recorded  of  Wha-to,  a Chinese 
surgeon  who  lived  about  the  twelfth  century,  that  he 
was  a bold  and  successful  practitioner.  His  works 
were  burned  and  he  was  put  to  death  because  he  pro- 
posed to  relieve  the  Emperor  by  performing  the  opera- 
tion of  trephining  the  cranium. 

/'Dr.  Headland  remarks  in  “China’s  New  Day”: 
“ We  found  many  works  on  all  phases  of  medical  prac- 
tice, from  the  eye,  ear,  nose,  throat,  and  teeth,  to  the 
treatment  of  infantile  maladies,  as  well  as  the  diseases 
of  camels,  oxen  and  buffaloes.  Some  of  these  works 
are  veritable  encyclopedias.  One,  prepared  by  a prince 
about  five  hundred  years  ago,  is  in  168  books,  has  1.960 
discourses  on  2,175  different  subjects,  with  778  rules, 
231  diagrams,  and  21,739  prescriptions.”  And  Dr. 
Headland  adds:  “ Prescriptions  enough  to  cure  all  the 
ills  of  life;  but  when  a Chinese  has  a headache  he 
pastes  turnip  skins  on  the  temples  to  bring  the  ache 
out.  When  he  has  a sore  throat  he  pinches  it  up  and 
down  the  two  sides  and  the  center  until  it  is  black  and 
blue,  in  order  that  by  counter  irritation  he  may  cure 
the  pain  within.  He  still  has  a sore  throat — but  it  is 
on  the  outside.”1 

The  world  cannot  be  too  grateful  for  the  discovery 
and  practical  application  of  drugs  for  the  prevention 
and  relief  of  pain  in  surgery.  While  chloroform  as 
a chemical  substance  was  known  on  both  sides  of  the 
Atlantic,  it  was  experimented  upon  and  used  for  the 
first  time  as  an  anesthetic  by  Sir  James  W.  Simpson, 


‘Isaac  Headland,  "China’s  New  Day,”  p.  181. 


THE  NEED 


1/ 


who  is  styled  the  “ father  of  anesthetics,”  and  who 
came  near  to  losing  his  life  while  making  tests  in  the 
laboratory  which  he  had  fitted  up  in  his  own  residence 
in  Edinburgh.  Charles  Darwin  attended  two  severe 
operations  in  the  same  city,  one  of  them  upon  a child, 
and  suddenly  disappeared.  “ Nor  did  I ever  attend 
again,”  he  writes,  “ for  hardly  any  inducement  would 
have  been  strong  enough  to  make  me  do  so ; this  being 
long  before  the  blessed  day  of  chloroform.  The  two 
cases  fairly  haunted  me  for  many  a long  year.”2 
But  there  were  forerunners  of  Simpson  long  before 
his  day.  The  Egyptian  physicians  had  a method  of 
benumbing  their  patients  before  operations.  They 
probably  used  a preparation  of  Indian  hemp.  It  is 
more  than  likely  that  such  a preparation  was  given 
Ulysses  of  Homeric  fame  to  assuage  his  grief.  In 
Chinese  annals  there  is  a record  of  a doctor  in  the  third 
century,  who  produced  anesthesia  in  his  patients  with 
ma-yo,  probably  the  same  drug.  A Chinese  doctor 
came  to  our  Soochow  hospital  one  day  for  the  removal 
of  a tumor,  the  size  of  a small  cabbage,  growing  from 
the  breast.  He  anxiously  inquired  if  I had  anything 
with  which  to  relieve  pain,  and  remarked  that  he  could 
tell  me  of  a local  anesthetic  which  he  had  used  with 
some  success.  We  gave  him  ether,  but  after  the  opera- 
tion and  recovery,  he  sent  for  the  ingredients  which 
consisted  of  an  amber  colored  cake  of  “ frogs-eye- 
juice,”  said  to  be  made  from  the  inspissated  juice  of 
hundreds  of  eyes  taken  from  frogs.  This  was  dis- 
solved in  a quart  of  water  with  several  white  ex- 
crescenses  taken  from  the  root  of  a certain  tree.  The 
index  finger  held  for  five  minutes  in  the  solution  be- 
came so  numb  that  it  could  be  pierced  with  a needle 
without  pain.  It  was  probably  a secretion  from  the 


a Victor  Robinson,  “ Pathfinders  in  Medicine.” 


j8  MEDICAL  MISSIONS:  THE  TWOFOLD  TASK 


frog  itself  for  the  purpose  of  benumbing  insects  which 
it  captures  for  food,  but  it  was  none  the  less  remark- 
able that  the  Chinese  should  have  hit  upon  it.  The 
demonstration  was  impressive,  but  I concluded  that 
cocaine,  which  had  just  been  discovered,  was  more 
convenient  and  decidedly  more  cleanly. 

Before  turning  from  our  consideration  of  the  ab- 
sence of  native  resources  for  dealing  with  sickness  and 
pain  a word  should  be  said  with  regard  to  dentistry. 
This  branch  of  medical  science  is  desperately  needed 
throughout  the  areas  under  review.  In  all  tropical 
Africa,  for  example,  dentistry  is  absolutely  unknown. 
While  the  African  has  the  reputation  of  having  excel- 
lent teeth  because  of  their  apparent  whiteness,  the  idea 
is  due  mainly  to  the  contrast  with  the  ebony  hue  of  the 
skin.  The  fact  is  they  suffer  much  from  toothache, 
and  other  consequences  of  carious  teeth.  Our  first 
patient  at  Wembo  Niama,  the  morning  after  our  ar- 
rival, was  the  wife  of  the  chief  who  had  been  in  agony 
for  days  from  an  exposed  nerve.  She  was  far  more 
sensible  than  her  Chinese  sister  whom  I found  with  an 
aching  tooth  during  a visit  to  the  walled  city  of 
Kading.  The  husband  of  this  Chinese  woman  asked 
if  I could  do  anything  for  her.  A left  molar  was  so 
far  gone  that  it  needed  to  be  extracted.  Catching  sight 
of  the  forceps,  she  declared  that  such  an  instrument 
of  torture  should  never  enter  her  mouth,  and  putting 
both  hands  over  her  face  she  ran  out  into  the  back 
yard.  I returned  two  weeks  later  and  asked  my 
friend  about  his  wife.  He  replied,  with  a twinkle 
in  his  eye,  that  she  claimed  to  be  well.  She  was 
embarrassed  when  I asked  what  the  hole  in  her 
cheek  meant.  He  explained.  After  I had  gone,  a 
quack  doctor  from  the  street  was  called  in,  examined 
her  tooth,  and  gravely  informed  her  there  was  a 
worm  in  it.  The  wriggling  of  the  w'orm  had  caused 


THE  NEED 


19 


the  pain.  She  submitted  to  his  thrusting  a long  iron 
needle,  the  size  of  a hat  pin,  through  her  cheek, 
and  having  it  driven  into  the  root  of  the  tooth.  He 
then  placed  a bit  of  cotton  saturated  with  oil  on  the 
end  of  the  needle,  and  set  it  on  fire.  The  red  hot 
needle  killed  the  worm,  for  it  had  not  wriggled  for 
a week.  Native  art  in  that  case  was  counted  superior 
to  foreign  dentistry. 

Dr.  G.  L.  McKay,  who  spent  so  many  years  in  For- 
mosa, was  not  a dentist,  but  finding  much  acute  suffer- 
ing from  neglected  teeth  it  was  his  invariable  custom 
to  take  his  dental  instruments  with  him  when  he 
itinerated.  He  would  not  infrequently  arrive  in  a vil- 
lage with  Bible  in  one  hand  and  forceps  in  the  other. 
Having  lined  up  the  patients  who  sought  relief,  for 
they  had  come  to  have  great  confidence  in  his  skill, 
he  and  his  native  assistants  would  extract  the  teeth  to 
the  number  of  forty  or  fifty  and  then  invite  the  dental 
congregation  to  hear  the  gospel.  This  they  did  to  his 
eminent  satisfaction  since  their  attention  was  now 
diverted  from  the  forceps  to  the  Book. 

It  is  not  for  the  natives  alone  that  the  dental  mis- 
sionary is  needed  on  the  field.  His  services  are  much 
in  demand  by  the  missionaries  themselves  who  are  re- 
mote from  the  coast.  More  than  one  missionary  has 
been  obliged  to  return  home  because  of  decayed  teeth 
or  abscesses  which  have  led  to  rheumatism,  indigestion, 
nervous  troubles  and  auto-intoxication. 

IV.  Fields  Unoccupied  by  Medical  Missions 

Commission  one  of  the  Edinburgh  World  Missionary 
Conference,  1910,  reported  that  there  were  vast 
populations  totaling  122,000,000  in  the  lands  which 
have  not  yet  been  entered  by  Christian  missions  and 
other  populations  — not  computed,  but  vastly  greater 
— which  are  in  those  areas  of  “ occupied  fields  ” 


20  MEDICAL  MISSIONS:  THE  TWOFOLD  TASK 

which  have  not  been  pioneered  by  the  Christian  mis- 
sionary and  for  whose  occupation  no  present  mis- 
sionary plans  have  provided.  For  all  those  suffer- 
ing multitudes  there  is  naturally  no  medical  relief. 
Into  some  of  the  countries  the  evangelistic  missionary 
might  find  it  difficult  to  enter  and  in  most  of  them  he 
would  find  himself  confronted  by  suspicion  and  op- 
position. But  what  a challenge  they  offer  to  the  doctor 
to  break  open  the  doors  of  access  for  the  Christian 
message ! Moreover,  many  sections  of  non-Chris- 
tian lands  that  are  regarded  as  occupied  by  Christian 
missions  are  unoccupied  from  the  standpoint  of  medi- 
cal missions. 

Let  us  look  at  a few  of  the  most  neglected  fields. 
Mongolia,  as  described  by  Dr.  G.  H.  Bonfield,  is  six 
times  the  size  of  Germany,  with  a population  of 
5,000,000,  both  ignorant  and  degraded.  There  are  only 
ten  missionaries  in  all  that  field.  To  the  east  lies 
Manchuria,  and  to  the  west  Chinese  Turkestan  and 
Sungaria,  while  Siberia  extends  for  2,000  miles  along 
its  northern  frontier.  It  was  from  this  portion  of 
Asia,  over  1,000,000  square  miles  in  area,  that  Kublai 
Khan,  the  greatest  general  of  his  age,  extended  his 
conquests  until  China  was  brought  under  the  Mongol 
Dynasty,  A.  D.  1280-1368.  His  successors  “ held  sway 
over  a vast  and  populous  empire,  embracing  many 
races  and  tongues,  and  stretching  from  the  Pacific 
Ocean  westward  to  Poland  and  Hungary,  and  from 
Siberia  southward  to  the  Indian  Ocean. 

There  is  raw  stuff  in  this  race  out  of  which  strong 
men  are  made,  but  Lamaism  has  ruined  the  people,  de- 
graded womanhood,  poisoned  family  life,  and  fastened 
upon  them  an  unscrupulous  priesthood.  The  number 
of  Lamas  is  said  to  be  over  sixty  per  cent  of  the  male 
population.  While  under  vows  of  celibacy  they  make 
no  pretense  of  chastity.  Their  power  must  be  broken 


THE  NEED 


21 


or  the  nation  is  lost.  The  country  is  an  open  field  for 
the  medical  missionary,  not  one  being  found  in  the 
whole  of  outer,  or  eastern  Mongolia,  though  the 
country  is  accessible.  As  to  China  proper,  it  is  said 
that  all  the  doctors  in  Great  Britain  and  Ireland,  in- 
cluding the  military,  could  be  used  in  the  one  province 
of  Szechwan,  so  vast  is  the  area  and  so  dense  the 
population. 

The  need  of  medical  missionaries  in  Armenia  and 
in  the  great  stretch  of  territory  through  Mesopotamia, 
and  beyond,  is  more  acute  today  than  it  was  four  years 
ago.  Doctors  and  nurses  have  died  of  exhaustion, 
dysentery  and  typhus  and  even  by  violence.  In  refer- 
ring to  this  need,  especially  in  Armenia,  Dr.  Clarence 
D.  Ussher,  whose  wife  succumbed,  and  who  came  near 
to  losing  his  own  life,  writes:  “When  my  hospital 
was  built  it  was  the  only  civil  hospital  in  a district  as 
large  as  the  whole  of  New  England,  New  York,  Penn- 
sylvania and  New  Jersey  combined.  It  is  now  in 
ruins,  and  four  times  that  area  is  without  a civil 
hospital  or  an  American  physician.  Most  of  the  Ar- 
menian and  many  of  the  Turkish  physicians  have  died. 
There  ought  to  be  at  least  one  American  physician  and 
hospital  every  two  hundred  miles,  and  one  at  large 
who  could  visit  the  district  and  send  needy  cases  to 
the  hospital.  Every  physician  in  charge  of  a hospital 
should  have  an  associate  for  counsel  and  assistance.” 
With  the  new  conditions  that  prevail  since  the  close  of 
the  Great  War,  there  is  every  prospect  of  enlarged 
and  wide  open  fields  in  Mesopotamia,  Armenia,  Syria, 
and  Arabia. 

Persia  has  an  area  equal  to  that  of  France,  Spain 
and  Italy,  with  half  of  Austria-Hungary  added,  and 
yet  there  are  not  more  than  twenty-five  medical  mis- 
sionaries representing  both  American  and  British  So- 
cieties. Twenty-five  doctors  for  a population  of  nine 


22  MEDICAL  MISSIONS:  THE  TWOFOLD  TASK 


and  a half  millions!  The  absence  of  hospitals  or 
asylums  for  the  insane,  leaves  in  a helpless  condition 
the  poor  unfortunates  who  are  mentally  diseased. 
Happy  are  they  if  they  escape  being  chained,  thrown 
into  stocks,  or  beaten,  upon  the  theory  that  the  evil 
spirit  must  be  driven  out.  It  was  for  this  field  that 
Dr.  Asahel  Grant  and  his  wife  sailed  from  Boston  in 
1833.  They  penetrated  the  mountain  fastnesses  held 
by  the  warlike  Kurds,  had  no  cover  save  a tent,  and 
at  night  fortified  themselves  with  boxes  and  bales. 
This  devoted  couple  wrought,  endured,  and  laid  foun- 
dations upon  which  other  heroic  workers  have  built, 
but  all  too  few  for  so  great  a field. 

Turning  to  Africa,  let  us  glance  at  Northern  Nigeria, 
an  unoccupied  medical  mission  field.  Udi,  in  the 
upper  Niger  region,  famous  for  its  outlying  coal  fields, 
stands  on  a plateau  some  1,200  feet  above  sea  level 
with  a wonderful  view  of  the  surrounding  country, 
and  is  in  the  center  of  a great  population.  “ It  was 
a most  heart  stirring  experience,”  Bishop  Tugwell 
writes,  “ to  stand  upon  the  brow  of  a cliff  and  look 
upon  the  vast  expanse  of  country,  thickly  populated, 
and  to  realize  that  throughout  that  region  not  a ray 
of  light  has  as  yet  penetrated  the  darkness  which  for 
centuries  has  brooded  over  the  land.  I was  con- 
strained to  cable  to  the  Church  Missionary  Society, 
‘Immediate  expansion,  Udi  urgent.’”  This  field  of 
The  Niger  mission  having  a population  of  3,000,000 
largely  unevangelized,  is  everywhere  open.  The  mis- 
sionaries have  the  ear  of  the  people.  The  results  have 
been  speedy  and  substantial.  But  a dark  cloud 
threatenens  from  the  north.  It  is  the  Mohammedan 
advance.  “ The  unique  opportunity  so  evidently  given 
us  by  God,”  says  Archdeacon  Dennis,  “ should  be 
bought  up  without  delay.  For  it  is  passing,  and  delay 
is  perilous.” 


THE  NEED 


23 


Dr.  Karl  Kunim,  Secretary  of  the  Sudan  United 
Mission,  reinforces  this  statement  by  adding  that  with 
the  exception  of  a government  doctor  at  Udi,  no  phy- 
sician is  to  be  found  in  all  northern  Nigeria  south  of 
the  Denue.  Straight  across  the  continent,  along  that 
zone  of  three  thousand  miles  with  its  scores  of  strong 
and  independent  tribes,  there  are  no  missionaries  of 
any  kind.  Coming  further  south,  there  is  a tragic 
absence  of  medical  missionaries  in  French  Equatorial 
Africa,  where  there  are  millions  of  unreached  people ; 
in  British  and  German  East  Africa,  with  hundreds 
of  tribes  untouched,  and  even  in  the  Belgian  Congo, 
the  force  is  pitifully  meager,  when  its  fifteen  millions 
are  taken  into  account.  In  the  territory  northwest 
of  Lake  Albert  a vast  region  is  almost  wholly  un- 
evangelized. The  Africa  Inland  Mission  has  estab- 
lished eight  stations  here,  but  they  are  scarcely  in  sup- 
porting distance  of  each  other,  and  the  medical  mis- 
sionary is  notable  for  his  absence. 

Little  comment  has  been  made  upon  India  and  its 
need,  because  of  the  admirable  administration  of  the 
British  government,  the  existence  of  the  Lady  Dufferin 
System  of  Hospitals,  and  the  comparatively  large 
number  of  medical  missionaries,  men  and  women,  at 
work  in  that  field.  But  despite  all  these  factors,  we 
have  a frightful  mortality  among  children,  a constant 
recurrence  of  plague  and  outbreaks  of  Asiatic  cholera, 
and  a large  percentage  of  the  population  absolutely 
unreached  by  medical  aid.  This  is  especially  true  of 
the  forty  million  women  who  are  “ behind  the  purdah,” 
and  inmates  of  the  zenanas.  Isolation  and  ignorance, 
immorality  and  disease  have  worked  terrible  havoc. 
Only  seven  in  every  thousand  women  in  India  can 
read  and  write.  In  commenting  upon  the  situation, 
Rudyard  Kipling  says,  “ You  cannot  gather  figs  from 
thistles,  and  so  long  as  the  system  of  infant  marriage, 


24  MEDICAL  MISSIONS:  THE  TWOFOLD  TASK 


the  prohibition  of  the  re-marriage  of  widows,  the  life- 
long imprisonment  of  wives  in  a worse  than  penal 
confinement,  and  the  withholding  from  them  of  any 
kind  of  education  as  rational  beings  continues,  the 
country  cannot  advance  a step.  The  foundations  of 
life  are  rotten,  utterly  rotten,  and  beastly  rotten.  The 
men  talk  of  their  rights  and  privileges.  I have  seen 
the  women  that  bear  these  men.  May  God  forgive 
the  men.” 

It  is  the  cheapening  of  human  life  that  we  see,  and 
the  degradation  of  womanhood,  upon  whose  elevation 
and  purity  the  welfare  of  the  country  depends.  It  is 
life  “ spent  in  grinding  poverty  and  bitter  toil,”  until 
the  burden  of  maintaining  life  becomes  too  great  and 
disease  or  death  supervenes.  These  conditions  lead  to 
the  loss  of  all  recuperative  power  and  when  epidemic 
stalks  over  the  land,  the  power  of  resistence  is  gone. 
Mr.  S.  K.  Datta  is  quoted  by  Sherwood  Eddy  as  say- 
ing of  his  own  country,  “ Villages  are  blotted  out  by 
famine  and  pestilence  and  yet  the  people  do  not  pause  to 
inquire  whether  such  a tragedy  is  preventable.  In  the 
plague  areas,  when  the  disease  is  at  its  height,  some 
may  attempt  to  escape,  but  the  bulk  of  the  population 
quietly  awaits  its  doom.  The  villagers  look  into  the 
faces  of  their  companions  and  wonder  which  of  them 
will  be  next  struck  down.  There  are  thousands  of 
children  to  whom  the  opportunity  of  life  is  never 
given ; hundreds  of  women  who  perish  prematurely, 
worn  out  with  their  toil,  whom  early  marriage,  neglect, 
and  unhygienic  surroundings  have  killed.  Not  one  of 
us  who  believes  in  the  eternal  value  of  the  individual 
soul  can  view  with  unconcern  this  wastage  of  human 
life.” 

V.  A Typical  Field  for  Medical  Missions 

We  may  take  Central  Africa  as  a typical  field  in  its 
need  for  medical  missions.  Sharing  in  general  all 


Inoculation  Against  Bubonic  Plague  in  India 


THE  NEED 


25 


the  need  that  has  been  mentioned  in  this  chapter,  there 
are  three  great  havoc-working  factors  operating  in 
this  area,  and  it  is  difficult  to  determine  which  of  the 
three  is  the  most  destructive  — the  witch  doctor,  sleep- 
ing sickness  and  intoxicating  liquors.  The  witch  doc- 
tor is  the  cause  of  almost  infinite  suffering,  physical 
and  mental.  He  is  crafty  and  yet  bold,  secretive  and 
yet  unscrupulous.  He  seems  in  his  cunning  almost 
to  be  the  special  agent  of  the  evil  one  himself.  He 
loves  darkness  because  his  deeds  are  evil.  Like  the 
African  spider  in  the  jungle,  he  sets  a snare  for  the 
unwary,  and  entraps  those  who  are  ignorant  and  credu- 
lous. He  deliberately  perverts  the  truth,  discovers 
the  weak  points  of  his  victim  and  preys  upon  their  fear 
of  evil  spirits.  The  mukanda,  or  book,  of  the  white 
man,  is  greatly  reverenced  by  the  untutored  native. 
To  him  it  is  clothed  with  mystery.  He  thinks  that 
to  the  white  man  it  has  a voice,  but  to  him  who  can- 
not hear  the  voice,  it  is  possessed  of  a spirit.  I once 
found  a Presbyterian  hymn  book  suspended  by  a grass 
string  from  the  ridge  pole  of  a witch  doctor’s  house. 
He  claimed  that  it  was  his  biggest  medicine. 

Fetishism  and  witchcraft,  according  to  Dr.  Nassau, 
who  speaks  with  great  authority  after  forty  years  on 
the  West  Coast,  are  responsible  for  the  death  annually 
of  thousands  of  natives.  There  is  no  man  in  all  Africa 
who  can  break  the  spell  and  overthrow  the  power  of 
the  ngangabuka,  or  witch  doctor,  more  swiftly  or  more 
surely  than  the  medical  missionary  who  is  scientific, 
sympathetic  and  spiritual. 

Sleeping  sickness  claims  its  tens  of  thousands,  where 
witch-craft  claims  its  thousands.  Livngstone  gives  an 
interesting  description  in  his  Journal  of  the  tsetse  fly, 
or  glossina  morsitans.  “ It  is  not  much  larger  than 
the  common  house  fly  and  is  nearly  of  the  same  brown 
color  as  the  honey  bee.  The  after  part  of  the  body 


26  MEDICAL  MISSIONS:  THE  TWOFOLD  TASK 


has  three  or  four  yellow  bars  across  it;  the  wings 
project  beyond  this  part  consderably,  and  it  is  remark- 
ably alert,  avoiding  most  dexterously  all  attempts  to 
capture  it  with  the  hand  at  common  temperatures.  In 
the  cool  of  the  morning  and  evening  it  is  less  agile. 
. . . In  this  journey,  though  we  were  not  aware  of 
any  great  number  having  at  any  time  lighted  on  our 
cattle,  we  lost  forty-three  fine  oxen  by  its  bite.” 

This  was  several  )^ears  before  the  terrible  havoc 
made  among  human  beings  by  the  glossina  palpalis. 
This  species  has  not  so  wide  a range  as  the  morsitans, 
being  found  usually  in  “ fly  belts  ” along  the  streams, 
and  requires  for  its  living  “ the  presence  of  open  water, 
a wooded  district,  and  a loose  soil.”  It  is  remarkable 
for  its  cunning  ways.  It  attacks  in  short,  sharp  curves 
and  seeks  an  exposed  part,  plunging  its  lance-like 
proboscis  into  the  skin.  Its  bite  is  less  irritating  than 
that  of  the  mosquito,  but  may  be  deadly  to  the  victim 
if  it  happens  to  be  the  host  of  the  trypanosome,  which 
is  transmitted  through  the  blood  and  may  finally  reach 
the  fluid  in  the  canal  around  the  spinal  cord.  Sir 
Patrick  Manson  states  that  while  the  tsetse  fly  is  not 
commonly  found  in  the  veldt,  and  at  an  elevation  of 
3,000  feet,  it  has  spread  down  the  west  coast  from 
Senegambia  and  has  traveled  up  the  water  courses 
of  the  Congo  basin  and  over  the  lake  region  of  Uganda, 
where  it  has  been  introduced  in  recent  years.  “ Death 
is  believed  to  be  inevitable,”  he  remarks,  “ after  the 
stage  of  sleeping  sickness.  . . . The  population  of 
the  implicated  districts  of  Uganda,  originally  about 
300,000,  has  been  reduced  in  six  years  to  100,000  by 
sleeping  sickness.”1 

The  importation  of  alcoholic  spirits  into  Africa,  if  it 
has  not  resulted  in  a greater  mortality  than  witch- 

1 Sir  Patrick  Manson,  "Tropical  Diseases,”  p.  163. 


THE  NEED 


27 


craft  or  the  bite  of  the  tsetse  fly,  is  more  demoralizing 
than  the  first  and  more  deadly  than  the  second  when 
one  considers  the  range  of  its  pernicious  influence  in 
the  moral  as  well  as  the  physical  nature.  Wherever 
absinthe  and  rum  have  gone  they  have  literally  de- 
stroyed the  people  soul  and  body.  I paced  the  deck 
of  a Belgian  steamer  one  day  with  a French  Governor 
who  was  returning  from  Dakar  where  the  Governor 
General  of  the  French  colonies,  on  the  west  coast,  had 
called  a meeting  of  administrators.  The  principal  sub- 
ject under  discussion  was  the  evil  influence  of  in- 
toxicating liquors  upon  the  native  African,  and  it  was 
resolved  that  there  should  be  a stop  put  to  the  use  of 
absinthe,  a thing  which  had  been  done  by  the  Belgian 
officials  several  years  before.  When  it  came  to  rum, 
my  friend,  the  Governor,  shrugged  his  shoulders  and 
said,  “ What  can  we  do  as  long  as  you  Americans 
practice  its  importation?  If  we  prohibit  the  use  of 
spirits  it  will  be  carried  into  other  colonies  along  the 
coast  and  gradually  filter  into  ours.”  To  convince  me 
of  the  deadly  effects  of  rum,  five  cents  worth  of  which 
would  make  a native  drunk,  he  took  me  to  the  port 
side  of  the  steamer,  pointed  to  the  coast  two  miles 
away  and  inquired  with  a flash  of  his  eye,  “ Do  you 
see  that  village  off  there?  Ten  years  ago  it  had 
8,000  people ; today  there  are  only  600  ! ” “ Sleeping 
sickness?”  I asked.  “No,”  he  emphatically  replied, 
“Rum!”  And  then  followed  an  awful  statement  of 
debauchery,  disease  and  death  brought  about  by  the 
white  man’s  curse. 

Dr.  C.  H.  Patton,  in  the  “ Lure  of  Africa,”  perti- 
nently remarks,  “ No  race  is  so  quickly  and  so  utterly 
demoralized  by  strong  drink  as  the  African.  Self 
interest  alone  on  the  part  of  the  Colonial  Governments 
dictates  that  the  traffic  be  suppressed.  Yet  a faltering 
course  is  followed.  . , . Colonial  Governors  realize 


28  MEDICAL  MISSIONS:  THE  TWOFOLD  TASK 


the  destructive  effects  of  alcohol  upon  native  character 
and  health,  and  would  gladly  be  rid  of  the  traffic ; but 
financial  considerations  stand  in  the  way.  In  Southern 
Nigeria  the  importation  of  spirits  has  furnished  fifty 
per  cent  of  the  revenues.  Rum  pays  a duty  of  200 
per  cent,  and  gin  a duty  of  300  per  cent ; and  yet  these 
deadly  liquors  are  shipped  into  the  country  in  almost 
unbelievable  amounts.”  Then  the  author  adds  that 
Holland,  Germany,  Great  Britain  and  the  United 
States  are  the  nations  that  sin  the  most  in  the  nefarious 
traffic.  It  was  reported  during  the  year  ending  April, 
1916,  by  the  British  Board  of  Trade,  that  3,815,000 
gallons  of  spirts  were  imported  into  British  West 
Africa.  During  the  previous  year,  there  were  shipped 
to  the  west  coast  of  Africa  from  the  port  of  Boston, 
1,571,353  gallons  of  rum.  The  Doctor  is  correct  in 
speaking  of  the  evil  as  being  one  of  colossal  magnitude 
— threatening  the  very  existence  of  the  west  coast 
tribes.  It  should  have  the  attention  of  the  entire  mis- 
sionary body,  the  civil  administrative  force,  and  also 
that  of  the  American  government,  which,  while  passing 
a Constitutional  Amendment  in  favor  of  prohibition, 
within  its  own  borders,  should  take  the  same  high 
ground  in  its  treatment  of  the  weaker  and  dependent 
races,  to  whom  we  are  sending  missionaries  to  render 
medical  help. 

The  world  fields  and  their  needs  lie  before  us.  It 
is  a vast  expanse  and  an  abysmal  depth.  It  is  a call 
with  the  cry  of  humanity  behind  it,  on  the  one  hand, 
and  the  voice  of  God  above  it,  on  the  other.  It  was 
Ion  Keith  Falconer  who  said,  “A  call  is  a need  made 
known  and  the  power  to  meet  that  need.”  Has  not 
our  blessing  of  health  and  of  the  gospel  made  us 
debtors  to  the  race  ? Has  it  not  rolled  a burden  upon 
us  — the  burden  of  broken  bodies  among  less  favored 
peoples  and  the  possibility  of  new  and  larger  life  for 


THE  NEED 


29 


them?  With  this  comes  another  burden  : “ The  burden 
of  the  proof  to  show  that  the  circumstances  in  which 
God  has  placed  you  were  meant  by  Him  to  keep  you 
out  of  the  foreign  field.” 


THE  MISSIONARY  HIMSELF 


THE  MISSIONARY  HIMSELF 

“ Heal  the  Sick.” 

“ I have  no  hesitation  in  expressing  it  as  ray  solemn  con- 
viction that,  as  yet,  no  medium  of  contact  and  of  bringing  the 
people  unto  the  sound  of  the  Gospel  and  within  the  influence 
of  other  means  of  grace  can  compare  with  the  facilities 
afforded  by  Medical  Missionary  operations.” 

Dr.  Peter  Parker. 


32 


II 


THE  MISSIONARY  HIMSELF 

I.  The  Medical  Missionary  as  Roadbreaker 
We  recognize  him  at  once  as  a great  pioneer  of 
Christianity.  Even  where  he  is  not  the  first  Christian 
worker  to  enter  a new  territory  it  is  his  work  that  most 
powerfully  opens  doors  of  entrance  for  the  Christian 
message.  It  removes  prejudice,  allays  suspicion  and 
interprets  the  true  spirit  of  Christianity.  Take  the 
case  of  Dr.  George  E.  Post,  of  Syria.  By  his  integrity 
and  skill  he  won  the  confidence  of  some  of  the  most 
bigoted  and  intolerant  Moslems.  A Bedouin  from 
Palmyra  was  shot  in  a blood  feud.  The  hakim,  or 
native  doctor,  attempted  to  drain  the  wound  in  his 
side  by  inserting  a rag.  It  slipped  in.  The  next  day 
he  inserted  another  with  the  same  result.  He  con- 
tinued this  performance  until  a mass  of  rags  had 
accumulated  as  big  as  his  fist.  Profuse  suppuration 
followed,  until  the  lungs  and  even  the  spinal  column 
were  exposed.  He  was  cured  by  the  missionary,  who 
to  the  natives  seemed  to  have  performed  a miracle. 
But  with  the  modesty  characteristic  of  all  these  great 
workers,  the  doctor  said,  “ It  was  not  a miracle  of 
mine,  only  a miracle  of  modern  science,  and  modern 
science  is  a miracle  of  Christianity.” 

Or  take  the  case  of  the  Christian  lady  traveler  who 
met  a company  of  Persians  on  a long  journey  over  the 
desert.  Some  were  sick  and  in  pain.  When  she  had 
relieved  them  by  simple  remedies  from  her  medicine 
chest,  they  gratefully  acknowledged,  “ We  have  no 

33 


34  MEDICAL  MISSIONS:  THE  TWOFOLD  TASK 


hakim  in  the  likeness  of  Jesus.”  And  many  doors  of 
access  were  opened  to  Moslem  hearts  that  day. 

The  missionaries  who  stand  upon  the  fringes  of 
great  outlying  empires,  lion-hearted  and  unafraid,  yet 
tender-souled  and  full  of  compassion  — these  are  the 
men  and  women  who  are  quietly  but  steadily  winning 
their  way  to  the  very  citadels  of  the  non-Christian 
world.  “As  I have  witnessed  the  relief  of  hitherto 
helpless  suffering,”  writes  Dr.  W.  J.  Elmslie,  “ and 
seen  their  grateful  attempts  to  kiss  my  feet,  and  my 
very  shoes  at  the  door,  both  of  which  they  would 
literally  bathe  with  tears  — especially  as  I have  seen 
the  haughty  Moolah  stoop  to  kiss  the  boarder  of  the 
garment  of  the  despised  Christian,  thanking  God  that 
I would  not  refuse  medicine  to  a Moslem,  and  others 
saying  that  in  every  prayer  they  thanked  God  for  my 
coming.  ...  I have  wished  that  more  of  my  pro- 
fessional brethren  might  share  the  luxury  of  doing 
such  work  for  Christ.”  Elmslie  was  sent  to  Kashmir 
by  the  Church  Missionary  Society  to  open  the  door  to 
Christian  effort.  Twice  the  evangelistic  missionaries 
had  been  driven  out  by  the  fanatical  natives.  But  he 
secured  a foothold  and  an  entrance  for  the  gospel  into 
one  of  the  “ greatest  strongholds  of  heathenism  in 
India.” 

“As  a traveler,”  wrote  Mrs.  Isabella  Bird  Bishop 
some  years  ago,  “ I desire  to  bear  the  very  strongest 
testimony  that  can  be  borne  to  the  blessings  of  medical 
missions  wrherever  they  can  be  carried  on  as  they  ought 
to  be.  On  the  western  frontier  of  China,  I should  say 
that  a single  medical  missionary  might  do  more  than 
twenty  evangelical  missionaries  at  the  present  time, 
and  that  there  is  room,  I was  going  to  say,  for  fifty 
medical  missionaries  in  the  world  where  there  is  but 
one  now;  and  not  only  room  for  them,  but  a claim 
for  them.” 


Man  Cured  of  Blindness  Leads  Blind  Friends  to  Hospital 


THE  MISSIONARY  HIMSELF 


35 


Nowhere  in  the  Oriental  world  has  the  medical  mis- 
sionary found  a larger,  more  fruitful  sphere  of  service 
than  in  China.  He  has  been  the  dissipator  of  preju- 
duce,  the  roadbreaker,  the  foundation  layer  in  many 
a city,  and  in  many  a human  heart.  The  immeasurable 
need  and  opportunity  of  China  has  drawn  to  it  some 
of  the  choicest  spirits,  men  and  women  imbued  with 
the  spirit  of  the  Great  Physician,  such  as  Dr.  Noyes 
of  Canton,  David  Grant  of  Chinchow,  Arthur  Jackson 
of  Moukden,  and  Lucy  Gaynor  of  Nanking.  They  had 
learned  that  the  “ candle  of  truth  ” is  a “ candlestick  of 
mercy,”  and  that  of  all  forms  of  mercy,  medical  mercy 
is  the  one  most  needed  and  least  likely  to  be  abused 
in  heathen  lands.1 

Henry  M.  Stanley  cleared  a way  for  a road  from  the 
Lower  Congo  to  Stanley  Pool  through  granite  rock, 
matted  jungle,  and  dense  forest  under  an  equatorial 
sun ; and  the  natives  of  the  Belgian  Congo  called  him 
“ Bulu  Matadi,”  the  Rockbreaker.  So  might  the  medi- 
cal missionary  be  named. 

Ignorance,  selfishness,  uncompromising  prejudice, 
social  customs  hoary  with  age,  religious  fanaticism 
and  racial  antagonism  running  into  hostility  are  bar- 
riers which  in  some  countries  have  constituted  ada- 
mantine walls.  But  they  have  been  breached,  smashed, 
leveled  to  the  ground  and,  with  the  dispelling  of  igno- 
rance and  prejudice  and  the  transformation  of  hostility 
into  profound  respect  and  permanent  friendship,  a 
new  order  of  life  in  the  midst  of  non-Christian  sur- 
roundings has  been  built  up. 

II.  His  Standing 

What  of  the  professional  standing  of  these  mission- 
ary men  and  women  who  represent  the  leading  insti- 
tutions of  the  West?  I unhesitatingly  reply  that  they 

1 Elliott  I.  Osgood,  " Breaking  Down  Chinese  Walls.’’ 


36  MEDICAL  MISSIONS:  THE  TWOFOLD  TASK 


are  the  peers  of  the  members  of  the  medical  profes- 
sion the  world  over.  Dr.  John  G.  Kerr,  for  years 
in  charge  of  the  Presbyterian  Hospital  in  Canton, 
“ stood  second  only  to  Sir  William  Thompson  in  the 
number  of  times  he  had  operated  for  urinary  calculus 
— one  thousand  three  hundred  times.”  The  fee  of 
many  surgeons  in  the  United  States  for  one  of  these 
operations  would  have  more  than  paid  Dr.  Kerr’s 
salary  for  a year  as  a missionary,  but  most  of  this 
surgery  was  done  gratuitously  and  if  a gift  was  made 
it  went  toward  the  upkeep  of  the  institution. 

Dr.  George  E.  Post,  of  New  York,  who  became 
professor  of  surgery  in  the  Beirut  Medical  College1 
in  Syria,  was  one  of  the  greatest  surgeons  in  any  land. 
Intelligent,  skilled,  devout,  he  was  a tower  of  strength 
to  all  missionaries  along  the  Mediterranean  coast.  In 
addition  to  his  work  in  hospital  and  college,  he  wrote 
a number  of  books  in  the  Arabic,  such  as  a treatise 
on  the  flora  of  Syria,  Palestine  and  Egypt,  text-books 
on  birds,  botany,  surgery,  materia  medica,  and  a Con- 
cordance of  the  Bible. 

Dr.  Mary  Pierson  Eddy  returned  to  Turkey  in  Asia 
as  a medical  missionary  in  1893,  with  six  diplomas. 
The  government  at  first  refused  a permit.  She  reso- 
lutely held  on  for  nearly  a year,  succeeded,  and 
thereby  opened  the  door  for  others.  In  three  weeks, 
at  Baalbek,  her  only  helper  being  a native  Bible 
woman,  she  performed  over  forty  operations  on  the 
eye  and  treated  five  hundred  new  patients.  In  her 
journeys  waiting  crowds  surrounded  her  tent,  exclaim- 
ing, before  five  in  the  morning,  “ Why,  the  hakim 
sleeps  so  late ! ” 

It  is  not  surprising  that  men  and  women  of  such 
ability  should  possess  exceptional  influence  in  the  com- 

1 Dr.  John  R.  Mott  has  said  of  this  Medical  College  that  it  has 
practically  created  the  medical  profession  in  the  Levant. 


THE  MISSIONARY  HIMSELF 


37 


munities  and  in  some  cases  throughout  the  nations  to 
which  they  go.  Three  times  the  Shah  of  Persia  urged 
Dr.  G.  W.  Holmes,  of  Hamadan,  to  become  his  per- 
sonal physician.  He  was  invested  with  the  insignia 
of  the  Order  of  the  Lion  and  the  Sun,  the  highest 
in  the  power  of  the  Prince.  Dr.  Wm.  S.  Vanneman 
was  “ called  on  medically  by  almost  every  person  of 
prominence,  the  Crown  Prince,  the  Governor,  and  the 
nobility,”  but  the  helpless  poor  of  Tabriz  always  had 
the  preference,  and  the  rich  were  often  declined  from 
lack  of  time.  There  are  many  missionary  physicians 
and  surgeons  today  in  India,  Africa  and  other  lands 
to  whose  hospitals  native  princess  and  statesmen  come 
long  distances  for  treatment  and  whose  personal  in- 
fluence is  recognized  near  and  far. 

Dr.  Speer  in  speaking  of  his  journey  through  Persia 
says  it  was  “ one  long  testimony  to  Dr.  [Joseph] 
Cochran’s  power.  He  was  our  passport  and  defense.” 
The  chief  of  a band  of  robbers  walked  in  one  day  to 
see  the  doctor.  The  quiet  little  man  looked  the  chief 
squarely  in  the  eye  and  said,  * So  you  are  the  rascal 
who  commits  these  outrages?  I have  heard  of  you. 
Your  name  is  a stench  in  the  country.  Would  it  not 
be  well  to  stop?’  The  man’s  face  turned  pale,  and 
he  soon  went  out  very  quietly.” 

These  fearless,  heroic  toilers  in  the  Near  East  and 
the  Far  East,  in  the  centers  of  population  and  the 
waste  places  of  the  earth,  men  and  women  who  are 
opening  the  door  for  Christianity  and  for  a higher 
civilization  everywhere,  would  be  a credit  to  their  pro- 
fession in  any  land. 

Of  course  their  skill  is  rapidly  developed  by  the 
very  nature  of  their  work.  Whatever  latent  abilities 
are  in  the  missionary  doctor  are  certain  to  be  brought 
forth  by  emergencies.  He  is  continually  being  faced 
by  the  unexpected  and  is  driven  to  call  upon  every 


38  MEDICAL  MISSIONS:  THE  TWOFOLD  TASK 


resource  that  is  in  him.  Many  a medical  missionary, 
with  no  trained  assistant  beside  him  and  with  almost 
none  of  the  facilities  which  if  he  were  practising  in 
the  homeland  he  would  regard  as  indispensable,  has 
found  himself  sudednly  called  upon  to  attend  to  an 
emergency  case.  In  the  lives  of  some  of  them  this  is 
of  almost  everyday  occurrence  and  it  is  an  expanding 
element  in  their  development. 

Resourcefulness,  the  talent  of  meeting  the  unex- 
pected and  doing  the  right  thing,  is  one  of  the  chief 
qualifications  required  in  all  foreign  missionary 
workers  and  in  the  exercise  of  it  they  become  greater 
men  and  women.  Often  missionaries  who  have  had 
no  medical  training  whatever  are  called  upon  to  render 
medical  assistance  and  the  degree  of  self-reliance  and 
ingenuity  and  aptitude  they  exhibit  in  these  emer- 
gencies is  at  times  surprising.  A messenger  came  one 
night  to  Rev.  W.  G.  Cram,  of  Korea,  in  breathless 
haste,  urging  that  he  save  the  life  of  a woman  stabbed 
in  a brawl.  He  declined  on  the  ground  of  his  not  be- 
ing a surgeon.  The  messenger  would  not  be  put  off, 
saying  that  if  she  died,  other  lives  might  be  lost  in 
retaliation.  He  reluctantly  followed,  and,  upon  enter- 
ing the  house,  found  the  woman  with  a terrible  slash 
in  her  right  side,  the  intestines  protruding  through  the 
gaping  wound.  For  the  moment  he  fell  back  aghast 
and  declared  his  inability  to  do  anything.  Her  friends 
urged  the  necessity  of  the  case.  He  bethought  him- 
self of  the  needle  and  thread  and  clean  towels  his 
wife  might  provide,  and  a bottle  of  carbolic  acid. 
Ordering  water  to  be  boiled,  he  went  to  his  home, 
returned  with  these  articles,  soaked  needle  and  thread 
in  the  antiseptic,  disinfected  his  hands,  wrung  the 
towels  out  of  hot  water,  washed  the  viscera,  replaced 
them  carefully,  sewed  up  the  wound  and  dressed  it  to 
the  best  of  his  ability.  The  woman  made  a good  re- 


« 


> 


Ambulance  Patented  by  'Dr.  PIenry  W.  Boone  of  St.  Luke’s  Hospital,  Shanghai 


THE  MISSIONARY  HIMSELF 


39 


covery,  and  to  his  embarrassment  Mr.  Cram’s  fame 
traveled  through  all  that  country.  With  grit  and 
gumption  of  that  sort,  that  man  would  have  made  a 
successful  medical  missionary. 

It  is  the  general  testimony  of  scientific  and  other 
travelers  in  mission  lands  that  medical  missionaries 
in  general  rank  high  and  that  a strikingly  large  pro- 
portion of  them  are  to  be  classed  among  the  elite  of 
the  profession.  This  high  standing  is  due  in  part  to 
the  standards  of  talent  and  training  by  which  they  are 
selected,  in  part  to  the  developing  nature  of  their  work 
and  in  part  to  the  spirit  that  drives  them  and  gives 
quality  to  all  that  they  do. 

But  of  missionaries  as  of  others  it  is  true  that  real 
greatness  lies  in  deeds,  not  in  words,  nor  in  name. 
It  is  embedded  in  the  life,  in  character,  in  purpose  and 
in  motive.  It  is  unconscious  of  itself.  To  be  sure, 
every  man  should  be  able  to  take  the  measure  of  his 
powers,  as  well  as  to  understand  his  limitations.  Self- 
respect  is  quite  compatible  with  humility.  But  when 
pride  of  greatness  comes,  greatness  disappears.  “ The 
most  subtle  device  of  Satan  for  the  undoing  of  a 
man’s  soul  is  to  tempt  him  to  use  opportunities  of 
public  service  for  the  pursuit  of  selfish  ends,”  says 
an  English  writer,  and  adds,  “ There  is  no  prayer 
which  should  be  oftener  on  the  lips  of  a public  man 
than  a clause  in  the  Moravian  liturgy:  ‘From  the 

unhappy  desire  of  being  great,  Good  Lord,  deliver 
us ! ”’  It  is  right  to  pray  to  be  good,  to  be  true,  and 
to  be  useful  to  the  highest  point  of  efficiency,  but  men 
are  never  great  when  they  seek  to  achieve  greatness 
for  its  own  sake.  Neither  do  men  become  great  by  a 
single  stroke ; they  grow  into  it  by  heroic  mastery  of 
themselves,  and  by  moral  and  spiritual  forces  which 
work  as  silently  but  as  surely  as  gravitation. 

The  outstanding  figures  in  the  history  of  medical 


40  MEDICAL  MISSIONS:  THE  TWOFOLD  TASK 


missions  have  been  men  and  women  of  deep  humility. 
Indeed  one  of  the  most  beautiful  characteristics  of 
such  medical  missionaries  as  Post  of  Syria  and  Kerr 
of  China,  is  the  moderate  estimate  which  they  put  upon 
their  abilities  and  work.  Such  men  have  realized  that, 
after  all,  it  was  not  their  own  achievement,  but  God 
in  His  mighty  power  working  through  them.  And 
it  has  been  this  very  modesty  and  simplicity  of  faith 
which  have  commended  them  to  those  to  whom  they 
have  been  sent.  “ In  judging  of  my  own  character  and 
abilities,”  writes  one  of  the  most  eminent,  “ I may 
say  that  I am  only  a plodder  of  average  talents,  and 
of  plain  common  sense.  If  remarkable  for  anything 
it  has  been  for  industry  and  perseverance,  working 
steadily  on  one  line  and  toward  one  object.”  Dr. 
Harold  Schofield  had  said  of  him  by  a friend,  in  re- 
ferring to  the  wonderful  success  and  distinction  he 
achieved  at  Oxford  University  and  elsewhere,  “ The 
humility  which  others  have  to  learn  by  failure,  he 
seemed  to  learn  by  success.”  He  won  distinction  in 
almost  every  department  of  effort.  Several  scholar- 
ships were  assigned  him,  covering  from  one  to  three 
years  each  and  amounting  in  the  aggregate  to  $7,000. 
These  included  a Greek  Testament  prize,  one  in 
Zoology,  and  another  in  Geology.  But  through  it  all, 
he  remained  humble,  trustful  and  open-minded. 

How  unconsciously  and  how  truly  great  was  Dr. 
J.  C.  Hepburn!  Though  too  timid  at  times  to  lift  up 
his  voice  in  public,  yet  he  wrought  himself  into  the 
life  of  the  Japanese  nation,  laid  the  foundations  for 
righteousness  by  his  superb  translation  of  the  Scrip- 
tures, received  a decoration  at  the  hands  of  the  Em- 
peror, and  enshrined  himself  as  “ the  good  physician  ” 
in  the  hearts  of  the  common  people  to  whom  he  minis- 
tered for  nearly  half  a century.  This  humble  mission- 
ary was,  in  a sense,  “ the  father  of  modern  medicine 


THE  MISSIONARY  HIMSELF 


41 


in  Japan.”  Neither  he  nor  Dr.  Bethune  McCartee,  also 
of  the  Presbyterian  Board,  who  came  over  from 
Ningpo,  China,  and  was  one  of  the  first  professors  of 
the  Imperial  University,  realized  whereunto  it  would 
all  grow.  They  contented  themselves  with  laying  the 
foundations,  deep  and  out  of  sight;  others  built  the 
superstructure,  and  the  world  marvels  at  it  all ! Dr. 
John  R.  McDill  of  Chicago,  surgeon  for  years  in  the 
Philippines,  and  author  of  “ Tropical  Surgery,”  admits 
that  the  Japanese  Medical  Corps  at  Peking  during  the 
Boxer  Movement  in  1900  was  “ superior  to  that  of  any 
other  nation.”1  This  record  was  due  to  the  study  of 
Western  medicine  by  the  Japanese,  and  so  was  in- 
directly a result  of  medical  missionary  work. 

III.  His  Supreme  Contribution 

Men  like  these  remind  us  that  a great  life  is  one  that 
is  constrained  by  a great  love  — a love  that  has  spring 
in  it,  impulsion,  and  a sense  of  high  privilege.  To 
such  a life  there  must  always  come  a sense  of  duty, 
but  reaching  far  above  and  beyond  is  the  higher  sense 
of  privilege  which  gives  vision,  altitude,  and  a realiza- 
tion of  a Christly  mission. 

It  is  this  sense  of  a Christly  mission  that  makes 
possible  the  greatest  contribution  of  the  medical  mis- 
sionary to  the  life  of  the  people  he  serves.  His  su- 
preme contribution  is  the  exemplification  of  the  spirit 
of  Jesus  Christ.  And  who  more  than  the  medical 
missionary  is  in  a position  to  exemplify  that  spirit? 
However  talented  and  highly  trained  a missionary 

1 From  another  source  I quote  the  following:  44  The  statistics  taken 

from  General  Oku’s  army  of  75,990  men  during  the  Russo-Japa.iese 
War  had  but  18 7 typhoid  cases.  They  reduced  their  dysentery  cases 
from  over  12,000  in  the  Chinese  War  to  6,624  in  the  Russian  War; 
their  cholera  cases  from  over  7,000  to  none;  and  their  malaria  fever 
cases  from  41,734  to  1,257.  This  was  in  spite  of  the  fact  that  their 
army  in  the  Russian  War  was  three  times  the  size  of  that  employed 
in  the  Chinese  War.” 


42  MEDICAL  MISSIONS:  THE  TWOFOLD  TASK 


may  be,  it  is  the  degree  in  which  he  incarnates  the 
loving,  serviceable  spirit  of  the  Redeemer  of  all  life 
that  is  the  measure  of  his  power,  J 

It  takes  a Christly  man  to  reveal  a Christlike  God. 
The  non-Christian  believes  there  is  a God,  but  does 
not  know  Him  — He  seems  too  vague  and  far  off. 
The  Christian  knows  there  is  a God,  but  too  often  does 
not  believe  and  obey  Him  because  He  seems  unreal. 
Jesus  Christ  came  to  reveal  God  as  Father  and  make 
Him  real.  The  missionary,  if  he  really  incarnates 
the  spirit  of  Jesus,  reveals  the  Christ  as  the  Great 
Brother  of  humanity  who,  by  His  life  in  the  flesh, 
gives  to  truth  a new  setting  and  to  service  a new 
power.  Even  the  preaching  of  the  Gospel  to  the  many 
and  the  few,  in  season  and  out  of  season,  carries  less 
emphasis  with  the  non-Christian  than  the  power  of 
Christ  finding  expression  in  human  personality.  Dr. 
Robert  E.  Speer,  in  his  life  of  Dr.  Joseph  Cochran, 
says  of  this  splendid  medical  missionary  to  the  Per- 
sians, “ Every  one  who  came  into  any  kind  of  close 
personal  relations  with  him,  felt  and  recognized  the 
stimulus  of  his  personality  and  was  made  stronger 
by  it.  Much  as  he  was  to  the  people,  he  was  more  to 
his  fellow-workers,  for  all  that  he  did  was  of  minor 
importance  compared  to  what  he  was.  For  it  was  the 
Spirit  of  Christ  that  was  his  own  inspiration ; it  was 
the  love  of  Christ  that  constrained  him,  and  made  him 
a lover  of  his  kind.” 

Is  this  not  an  illustration  of  the  truth  of  the  saying, 
“ If  you  want  to  convince  a man,  let  loose  a life  at 
him?”  Talk  is  cheap  but  the  logic  of  a life  is  irre- 
sistible. Thought  must  be  followed  by  action,  high 
purpose  by  noble  deeds,  renewal  of  ideals  by  a yet 
higher  life,  or  all  will  be  a miserable  failure.  It  was 
the  sense  of  duty  and  the  ever-present  consciousness 
of  higher  things  that  constrained  the  biographer  of 


THE  MISSIONARY  HIMSELF 


43 


the  first  medical  missionary  to  Japan,  to  say  of  him 
that  he  was  “ ever  seeking  his  life  out  of  himself  in 
God.  . . . With  the  ignorant,  conceited,  or  im- 

petuous, instead  of  magisterial  haughtiness,  he  held 
rather  the  attitude  of  a discerning  physician  of  souls. 
. . . With  Hephurn,  life  was  ‘ the  energy  of 

Love.’  ”1  The  supreme  contribution  of  the  medical 
missionary  is  the  measure  of  his  incarnating  of  the 
love  of  God. 

IV.  His  Double  Errand 

The  glory  of  Christianity  lies  in  its  mission  to  lost 
men.  The  Great  Master  of  us  all  said,  “ The  Son  of 
Man  is  come  to  seek  and  to  save  that  which  was  lost.” 
Sin  drags  man  down  to  his  worst.  Christ  would  bring 
man  up  to  his  best.  If  there  is  no  best  in  him,  He 
creates  desires,  aspirations,  ideals  and  loves,  which 
change  an  empty  life  into  an  overflowing  life,  and  an 
incomplete  life  into  one  like  unto  that  of  the  Son  of 
God. 

The  world’s  greatest  need  today  is  a ministry  that 
will  take  both  body  and  soul  into  the  count.  Chris- 
tianity places  a large  emphasis  upon  the  health  and 
soundness  of  the  body,  which  it  holds  is  the  temple  for 
the  abode  of  the  Spirit  of  the  living  God.  Men  may 
not  be  conscious  of  their  birthright,  but  they  were 
created  in  the  image  of  God,  and  are  to  be  restored 
to  a realization  of  Sonship.  The  world  needs  big- 
hearted  men,  courageous  and  high-souled,  whose  sym- 
pathy can  overleap  every  boundary,  whose  love  can 
lavish  itself  upon  those  for  whom  Christ  died,  however 
remote  and  however  depraved  — men  with  medicine 
for  the  body  and  medicine  for  the  soul,  men  who  are 
expert  to  prevent  and  repair  physical  loss  and  who 
can  repeat  with  loving  authority,  “ Though  your  sins 

1 W.  E.  Griffis,  "Life  of  J.  C.  Hepburn.”  pp.  9,  10, 


44  MEDICAL  MISSIONS:  THE  TWOFOLD  TASK 


be  as  scarlet,  they  shall  be  as  white  as  snow;  though 
they  be  red  like  crimson,  they  shall  be  as  wool.” 

The  work  and  the  worker  must  ever  find  their  high 
type  in  Jesus  Christ,  the  first  Medical  Missionary. 
“And  Jesus  went  about  in  all  Galilee  teaching  in  the 
synagogues  and  preaching  the  Gospel  of  the  Kingdom, 
and  healing  all  manner  of  disease  and  all  manner  of 
sickness  among  the  people.”1  His  was  a mission  to 
diseased  human  nature  as  well  as  to  the  halt,  the 
maimed,  the  deaf  and  the  blind.  He  could  restore  the 
soul  of  man,  and  rehabilitate  his  body.  How  wonder- 
ful those  words  at  the  very  opening  of  His  ministry 
at  Nazareth:  “The  Spirit  of  the  Lord  is  upon  me, 
because  He  hath  anointed  me  to  preach  the  Gospel  to 
the  poor ; He  hath  sent  me  to  heal  the  broken-hearted, 
to  preach  deliverance  to  the  captives  and  recovery 
of  sight  to  the  blind ; to  set  at  liberty  them  that  are 
bruised,  and  to  preach  the  acceptable  year  of  the 
Lord.”2  He  did  not  simply  heal  disease,  He  restored 
shrunken  capacity.  He  preached  a Gospel  to  the 
whole  man,  and  sought  to  make  man  whole  through 
the  Gospel  that  He  preached.  The  physician,  teacher 
and  preacher  were  in  Him  so  beautifully  intertwined 
that  they  became  a trinity  of  life-giving  service.  The 
body,  through  His  magic  touch,  becomes  the  temple 
of  the  Holy  Spirit,  the  mind  the  organ  of  God’s 
thought,  and  the  soul  of  man  the  candle  of  the  Lord, 
burning,  and  shining  as  it  burns. 

Jesus  did  not  go  out  of  His  way  to  prove  His  di- 
vinity by  His  miracles,  though  they  unquestionably 
attested  His  divine  nature  and  power.  He  did  not 
attempt  to  prove  anything.  He  came  to  reveal  the 
Father  and  to  live  a life.  In  the  living  of  that  life 
of  compassion,  He  gave  the  fullest  proof  of  His  true 

1 Matt.  4:23. 

• Luke  4:18,19. 


THE  MISSIONARY  HIMSELF 


45 


nature  and  mission.  His  miracles  of  healing  were 
wrought  out  of  His  sympathy  and  love  for  man.  They 
seemed  almost  to  burst  forth  into  light  wherever  He 
touched  human  bodies  and  met  human  needs. 

What  a noble  catalogue  might  be  written  of  those 
men  and  women  who  as  medical  missionaries  have  fol- 
lowed their  great  Exemplar  on  His  double  errand  to 
humanity ! Let  us  take  for  illustration  Dr.  U.  H. 
Nixon,  who  surrendered  a lucrative  practice  in  Texas, 
sold  his  house,  disposed  of  his  effects  and,  taking  his 
family,  went  at  the  call  of  the  Church  to  Monterey, 
Mexico.  Splendid  fellow  he  was  — a great  Christian 
and  a great  physician.  Hundreds  were  treated  in  his 
hospital  wards,  and  thousands  listened  to  his  words 
in  the  chapel.  Then  came  Yellow  Jack  up  from 
Tampico.  A weekly  letter  to  the  Secretary  of  the 
Mission  Board  told  of  the  ravages  of  the  epidemic. 
Nixon’s  wife  and  children  were  smitten.  His  nurses 
succumbed.  Yellow  fever  had  seized  its  victims  in 
almost  every  house.  Then  followed  the  telegram  that 
he  himself  was  ill.  Finally  the  last  message — an 
envelope  containing  a prescription  blank  on  which  was 
penciled  the  farewell.  True  as  steel,  prompt  and  un- 
flinching as  the  fellows  who  have  served  the  military 
hospitals  in  the  Balkans  and  died  of  typhus,  he  an- 
swered the  call  of  duty. 

Upon  my  way  home  one  evening,  in  Nashville,  Ten- 
nessee, I passed  the  gate  of  a hospital.  The  house 
surgeon  was  standing  there  for  the  moment  and  I 
caught  his  eye.  Seeing  that  something  unusual  had 
happened,  I stopped  to  hear  the  story.  A brakeman 
had  been  crushed  under  the  wheels  of  a freight  train. 
The  railroad  surgeon  was  summoned,  examined  the 
patient,  turned  from  the  bedside  and  said  there  was 
no  hope.  “ But  he  is  not  a Christian.  Are  you  not 
going  to  tell  him  that  he  must  die  ? ” asked  C.  B.  Han- 


46  MEDICAI  MISSIONS:  THE  TWOFOLD  TASK 


son,  the  young  doctor.  “ Tell  him  yourself,  I cannot,” 
was  his  reply,  as  he  turned  on  his  heel  and  left  the 
hospital.  The  house  surgeon  returned  to  his  patient, 
took  him  by  the  hand,  looked  him  in  the  eye,  and  told 
him  that  he  had  less  than  three  hours  to  live.  He  must 
make  his  preparation  to  die.  The  young  brakeman 
was  at  first  incredulous,  but  grasping  the  truth,  re- 
quested Hanson  to  kneel  by  his  side  and  pray,  while 
he  confessed  his  sins  and  committed  his  soul  to  God. 
Athwart  the  darkening  shadows  that  settled  rapidly 
across  the  cot  that  afternoon,  there  fell  a great  light, 
and  a joy  came  into  the  hearts  of  two  men,  and  of 
the  angels.  The  story,  told  so  simply  and  so  earnestly, 
gripped  me.  I felt  that  a man  with  a soul  like  that 
ought  to  be  a medical  missionary  and  told  him  so.  He 
went  to  Mexico.  He  took  the  place  of  Nixon  who  had 
fallen,  carried  the  work  with  marked  ability,  comforted 
many  hearts,  led  scores  to  Christ,  was  himself  stricken 
with  pellagra,  and  laid  down  his  life — a faithful  soldier. 

Is  it  any  wonder  that  men  and  women  who  preach 
and  live  this  double  gospel,  whose  errand  is  so  closely 
patterned  on  that  of  their  Lord  and  whose  work  is  so 
accurate  an  obedience  to  His  commission  are  filled 
with  exuberant  hope?  The  missionary,  as  a rule,  is 
the  most  optimistic  worker  in  all  the  world.  His 
cheerfulness  is  proverbial.  It  is  the  optimism  of  an 
aggressive  Christianity — a Christianity  which  does  not 
dig  in,  but  takes  the  field,  and  in  the  fight  with  evil 
is  as  terrible  as  an  army  with  banners.  It  is  a hope- 
fulness that  springs  from  humanity’s  conquering  faith 
in  the  ultimate  triumph  of  the  right,  in  the  unshakable 
and  ineradicable  hope  of  immortality,  and  in  the  power 
and  persistence  of  the  truth.  Nay,  it  is  rooted  in  the 
very  work  and  character  of  God.  The  great  mission- 
aries have  always  placed  themselves  in  line  with  God’s 
providence,  resolved  to  do  His  will,  however  things 


THE  MISSIONARY  HIMSELF 


4 7 


might  come  out.  The  results  have  been  left  with  Him 
“ When  we  are  assured,”  says  Bishop  Brent,  “ that  we 
are  called  by  God  to  a task  and  have  His  interest  and 
supervision,  our  sole  responsibility  is  to  commit  our- 
selves to  the  activities  involved.  Tire  ultimate  issue  is 
not  the  worker’s  concern.”  So  it  is  with  the  medical 
missionary. 

Or  is  it  any  wonder  that  so  many  men  and  women 
of  vision,  of  heroism,  of  the  spirit  of  service  have 
leaped  to  a task  like  this,  that  they  have  found  their 
imaginations  captured,  their  devotion  challenged,  their 
love  for  humanity  compelled  by  so  rich  and  sweeping 
an  opportunity  to  serve  to  the  uttermost? 

V.  His  Motive 

For  what,  after  all,  has  been  the  driving  motive  in 
Henry  West  and  Mary  Pierson  Eddy  and  Kenneth 
McKenzie  and  all  the  other  men  and  women  who  have 
poured  the  strength  of  their  lives  into  the  abundant 
service  of  medical  missions  ? What  has  been  the  cen- 
tral, directing  force?  It  is  the  divine  love  in  the 
missionary’s  life,  giving  singleness  and  strength  of 
purpose.  In  the  absence  of  such  impelling  love,  any 
man  may  well  question  the  genuineness  and  the  vitality 
of  his  faith.  David  Livingstone,  pioneer  and  medical 
missionary  in  Africa,  in  referring  to  his  conversion, 
writes : “A  sense  of  deep  obligation  to  Him  for  His 
mercy  has  influenced,  in  some  small  measure,  my  con- 
duct ever  since  ...  In  the  glow  of  love,  which  Chris- 
tianity inspires,  I soon  resolved  to  devote  my  life  to 
the  alleviation  of  human  misery.”  This  dynamic  is 
central  in  the  heart  of  the  great  Father  of  the  race. 
He  loved  and  therefore  gave.  In  giving,  He  withheld 
nothing.  He  gave  His  best,  and  His  beloved  Son  in 
the  spirit  of  infinite  sacrifice  withheld  not  Himself. 

We  lose  sight  of  the  other  man  when  we  have  lost 


48  MEDICAL  MISSIONS:  THE  TWOFOLD  TASK 


sight  of  God.  Confucianism,  with  its  agnostic  teach- 
ing, ignores  God  and  deals  only  with  the  relations  of 
man.  “Judaism  had  two  coordinate  points — God  and 
, man.  These  were  the  two  foci  of  the  curve.  Chris- 
/ tianity  has  three — God,  man  and  the  other  man.  The 
distinction  of  Christianity  is  that  it  puts  man  in  his 
own  place,  between  God  and  his  neighbor;  and  teaches 
him  that  he  may  receive  grace  from  the  one,  which  he 
may  and  must  transmute  into  energy  for  the  sendee  of 
the  other.”1  It  is  not  because  the  other  man  is  so  far, 
but  because  our  selfish  aim  is  so  near.  It  obscures  not 
only  the  one  man  and  his  need,  but  all  men  with  their 
greater  need.  Are  we  willing  to  remain  quietly  at 
home  and  see  whole  tribes  and  nations  go  down  under 
their  burdens  ? Are  we  willing,  with  our  magnificent 
heritage,  to  stand  “ outside  all  the  big  hopes  and  all  the 
big  fights  of  humanity?”  A selfishness  which  ever 
seeks  its  own  good  and  looks  not  for  the  good  of 
another  is  deliberate  moral  and  spiritual  suicide.  “ The 
missionary  enterprise  of  the  Church,  the  momentous 
social  movements  of  our  time,  these  are  dragging  be- 
cause so  many  of  us  are  spending  on  ourselves  what 
we  were  meant  to  spend  upon  the  world.  Selfishness 
entails  not  only  lost  souls  but  a lost  world.”  But  re- 
member, when  a world  goes  down,  we  go  down  with  it. 

VI.  Who  Follows ? 

A thrill  of  joy  comes  to  every  man  who  can  throw 
himself  into  a life  undertaking — one  worth  living  for, 
and  equally  worth  dying  for.  A man  is  never  so  great 
as  when  he  has  a sense  of  mission — never  so  invincible 
as  when  he  grips  a great  purpose.  It  springs  him  to 
his  best.  It  makes  him  immortal.  But  the  purpose 
must  grip  him.  He  must  become  possessed  by  it,  if 

1 Roberts,  "The  Renaissance  of  Faith.”  p.  ioo. 


THE  MISSIONARY  HIMSELF 


49 


he  would  measure  up  to  the  highest  demands  of  God 
and  humanity.  It  makes  life  count  for  something — 
for  the  most  possible.  Such  a man  does  not  rest  upon 
the  belief  that  the  world  owes  him  a living.  He  is 
convinced  that  he  owes  the  world  a life  and  that  that 
life  should  be  related  to  God’s  plan. 

The  plan  of  God  is  built  around  the  needs  of  men. 
Every  man  who  believes  in  God  has  a share  in  it.  The 
share  may  be  very  small,  but  it  is  very  real.  It  may  be 
in  an  obscure  corner  of  the  earth,  but  it  counts.  Your 
lot  may  be  simply  that  of  lifting  your  fellow-man  off 
the  scrap-pile.  That  of  another  may  be  a mighty  con- 
structive effort  for  the  uplift  of  humanity.  The  one 
may  be  small  in  detail,  the  other,  building  in  the  large. 
But  it  is  all  lending  a hand,  lifting  a voice,  living  a 
life,  and  offering  a service  of  help  and  of  good  cheer. 

It  matters  little  where  the  plan  of  God  leads  us. 
It  matters  muoh  that  our  lives  are  rightly  set  down  in 
the  work  and  in  the  place  marked  for  them  in  the 
divine  plan.  For  Livingstone  it  meant  the  work  of  an 
explorer  and  pioneer  medical  missionary  in  Africa. 
He  was  on  God’s  errand  and  he  knew  it.  To  the 
Directors  of  the  London  Missionary  Society  he  wrote 
from  the  remote  interior  of  the  Dark  Continent  saying 
that  he  was  at  their  disposal  “ to  go  anywhere — 
provided  it  be  FO RIVARD.”  The  sense  of  mission 
never  left  him.  In  it  there  were  blended  a heart  of 
tenderness  and  a will  of  iron.  It  was  illustrated,  on 
the  one  hand,  by  a night  ride  against  the  entreaties  of 
his  friends  through  a forest  infested  by  wild  beasts  to 
save  a poor  native  who  had  been  gored  in  the  abdomen 
by  the  thrust  of  a black  rhinoceros.  On  the  other  hand, 
it  emerged  in  his  reply  when  troubles  multiplied,  and 
his  brother  Charles  proposed  he  should  give  up  the 
difficult  task  and  settle  in  America:  “ I am  a mission- 
ary, heart  and  soul.  God  had  an  only  Son,  and  He 


50  MEDICAL  MISSIONS:  THE  TWOFOLD  TASK 


was  a missionary  and  a physician.  In  this  service  I 
hope  to  live ; in  it  I wish  to  die.” 

There  are  times  in  the  history  of  the  world  when 
men  and  women  must  accept  great  tasks  and  make 
great  decisions.  This  is  one  of  them.  Never  before 
were  demands  for  medical  missionaries  so  imperative. 
Never  before  was  there  such  a rush  of  opportunity, 
never  such  a pressure  of  responsibility  growing  out 
of  the  march  of  events,  the  cumulative  needs  of  hu- 
manity, and  the  providence  of  God. 

President  Henry  Churchill  King  speaks  of  “ the 
natural  birth-hours  of  great  decisions,”  and  adds, 
that  “ they  should  not  be  allowed  lightly  to  pass.” 
There  are  indeed  hours  that  come  to  every  man  when 
deep-seated  convictions  are  conceived  and  far-reaching 
decisions  are  born.  They  may  grow  slowly  from  the 
sense  of  one’s  obligation  to  serve  his  fellowman.  Or 
they  may  come  under  the  lightning-like  flash  of  a 
revelation  of  God’s  will  and  of  a world’s  need.  When 
they  do  come,  they  are  to  be  accepted  as  God’s  way  of 
sweeping  a man’s  life  out  into  a larger  sphere  of  duty. 

A call  to  fill  the  life  with  service  is  always  God’s 
call.  It  may  be  the  inner  voice  of  duty;  but  it  is 
His  call.  It  may  be  an  open  door;  that  is  the  voice 
of  Providence.  It  may  be  the  urgent  need  of  a mis- 
sionary doctor;  that  is  the  voice  of  the  Church.  It 
may  be  the  cry  of  humanity  for  help;  that  becomes  an 
imperious  demand  and  must  be  obeyed.  The  call  is 
of  God — the  answer  is  by  man.  “ Here  am  I,  send 
me,”  said  David  Livingstone.  Just  so  have  answered 
a host  of  men  and  women  who  have  fared  forth  to 
serve  as  medical  missionaries — physicians,  surgeons, 
nurses,  sanitary  engineers,  athletic  directors,  medical 
instructors — into  the  lands  where  the  task  of  physical 
reconstruction  is  so  sorely  and  urgently  needed.  Who 
follows  in  their  train? 


THE  AIM  AND  SCOPE  OF  MEDICAL 
MISSIONS 


“ Medical  Missions  are  an  expression  of  the  whole  message 
of  Jesus  Christ  to  the  individual,  the  healing  of  the  body, 
the  enlightening  of  the  mind,  the  redeeming  of  the  soul.” 

Dr.  Henry  T.  Hodgkin. 

“ Now,  while  all  pursuits  ought  to  be  of  the  nature  of 
callings,  there  are  two  which  may  be  said  to  be  callings  par 
excellence,  namely,  the  Christian  ministry  and  the  ministry 
to  the  sick.  In  the  ideal  physician,  as  in  his  Lord,  these 
callings  are  blended.” 


Dr.  Howard  A.  Kelly. 


Ill 


THE  AIM  AND  SCOPE  OF  MEDICAL 
MISSIONS 

In  this  chapter,  with  some  inevitable  repitition,  we 
are  to  consider  the  objective  and  the  range  of  the 
medical  missonary’s  work. 

1.  The  Aim  and  Scope  Defined 

The  one  great  aim  of  medical  missions  is  to  present 
Christ  to  suffering  and  sinful  men.  To  undertake  less 
is  to  reduce  a high  calling  to  a secular  profession,  a 
mere  philanthropy,  or  to  the  art  of  healing  as  a science 
pure  and  simple.  In  scope  it  is  inclusive  of  every 
legitimate  and  available  means  of  curing  dsease  and 
of  allayng  the  suffering  of  the  individual ; of  minister- 
ing to  the  sick  in  the  home  and  in  the  hospital;  of 
guarding  the  health  of  the  community  and  of  the  State, 
and,  through  all  of  these  channels,  of  making  Christ 
known  whenever  and  wherever  opportunity  may  offer. 
The  one  supreme  purpose  of  every  missionary,  whether 
evangelistic,  educational,  industrial,  literary  or  medi- 
cal, is  to  present  Jesus  Christ,  the  Son  of  God  and  the 
Saviour  of  the  world,  to  preach  His  gospel  by  being 
His  witness,  by  proclaiming  the  truth,  by  a ministry 
of  mercy,  by  the  daily  life,  and  by  every  worthy  and 
effective  means  for  the  promotion  of  the  brotherhood 
of  Christly  men,  and  the  extension  of  the  Kingdom 
of  God. 

“ Medical  Missions,”  says  Dr.  James  L.  Barton, 
“ have  not  lost  in  the  least  degree  their  original  aim 

53 


54  MEDICAL  MISSIONS:  THE  TWOFOLD  TASK 


and  purpose.  They  represent  the  compassionate 
Christ  yearning  over  the  suffering  masses  of  His 
ignorant  children,  to  whom  He  stretches  out  His  hands 
in  loving  invitation.  At  the  same  time  they  are  intro- 
ducing among  the  people  of  the  East  a new  profes- 
sion, are  making  the  modern  medical  school  and  hos- 
pital indigenous  to  the  Orient,  and  are  constructing 
barriers  through  which  epidemics  and  scourges  that 
seem  to  breed  in  those  countries  may  not  break.”1 
Medical  mission  work  is  preventive,  curative,  re- 
demptive and  constructive.  Initially  the  physician 
bends  every  effort  to  heal  diseased  humanity;  then  he 
must  throw  himself  into  the  wider  field  of  applying 
modern  medical  science  to  prevent  disease  in  the  in- 
dividual, and  to  check  the  ravages  of  epidemics,  and 
finally  to  eliminate  them  not  only  in  the  community 
where  he  lives  and  'works  but  in  all  the  world.  His 
is  a world  task  on  this  level.  Beyond  this,  however, 
and  on  a higher  plane,  he  becomes  an  exponent  of 
spiritual  forces  set  in  motion  for  the  redemption  of 
humanity  from  a life  of  sin  and  moral  degeneration 
to  a life  of  personal  purity  and  efficient  service.  Here 
his  constructive  work  begins.  He  is  a builder  of  a 
social  order  which  is  an  integral  part  of  the  Kingdom 
of  God  among  men.  It  is  not  the  Utopia  of  the 
philosophers,  nor  heaven  brought  down  to  earth  ac- 
cording to  the  notion  of  the  Jew,  but  the  divine  life, 
and  power  to  live  that  life,  wrought  into  the  conscious- 
ness of  men  — a life  which  is  meant  to  interpenetrate, 

1 " Human  Progress  Through  Missions,”  p.  67.  The  truth  of  this 
statement  is  reenforced  by  the  fact  that  when  the  capital  of  Chnia 
was  threatened  by  the  plague  tnat  was  ravaging  the  Province  of  Man- 
churia, the  Missionary  Medical  College  in  Peking  was  agreed  upon 
by  the  Chinese  officials  as  the  most  suitable  place  for  planning  the  cam- 
paign against  the  epidemic.  Medical  missionaries  had  large  leadership 
“ ,n  organizing  and  carrying  out  preventive  measures,  and  the  students 
in  the  Mission  College  were  the  mainstay  of  the  Chinese  Government 
in  the  crisis.” 


Fighting  the  Pneumonic  Plague  in  Manchuria 
A Search-party  Going  From  House  to  House 


■» 


THE  AIM  AND  SCOPE 


55 


transform,  and  uplift,  until  men  shall  come  to  realize 
that  God  is  their  Father,  and  that  they  may  become 
His  restored  and  reinvigorated  children.  “ Every 
civilizing  influence  that  the  missionary  can  bring  to 
bear  upon  the  people,  and  that  gives  to  Christianity 
a practical  aspect,  every  such  form  of  missionary  ef- 
fort, when  made  to  observe  the  one  great  purpose, 
lies  within  the  scope  of  the  Divine  commission  and 
should  have  its  place  in  the  missionary  enterprise.”1 
No  man  is  called  upon  so  much  as  the  medical  mis- 
sionary to  combine  the  secular  and  religious,  the  ma- 
terial and  the  spiritual,  to  bring  them  together,  to 
fuse  and  make  their  forces  work  to  the  same  great 
end.  It  is  the  function  of  Christianity  constantly  to 
widen  the  sphere  of  religion  and  not  to  narrow  it.  It 
is  the  genius  of  Christianity  not  to  be  divorced  from 
life  but,  like  the  leaven,  which  a woman  took  and  hid 
in  three  measures  of  meal,  to  permeate  and  work  per- 
sistently and  powerfully  until  it  is  all  leavened.  “ Ye 
are  the  salt  of  the  earth.”  Jesus  would  not  pray  that 
His  disciples  should  be  taken  from  the  world,  but, 
while  they  were  to  be  held  to  their  task,  He  besought 
the  Father  that  they  might  be  kept  from  the  evil  one. 
Sin  and  shame,  disease  and  death  are  present  in  the 
world  — constantly  present,  and  as  widespread  as 
humanity.  Man  to  be  saved  must  be  redeemed  in 
every  part  of  his  being.  ( The  medical  missionary 
moves  among  the  dead  and  dying.  He  touches  life  on 
?every  side ; he  deals  with  material  as  well  as  spiritual 
forces,  but  through  it  all  he  must  be  the  light  that 
radiates,  the  leaven  that  permeates,  and  the  salt  that 
preserves  and  becomes  the  savor  of  life  unto  life. '] 
With  him  there  is  neither  secular  nor  religious  as 
separated  from  each  other.  His  reverence  for  human- 


1John  Lowe,  "Medical  Missions:  Their  Place  and  Power.” 


56  MEDICAL  MISSIONS:  THE  TWOFOLD  TASK 


ity  lifts  and  transfigures  his  daily  task  into  a divine 
mission. 

The  gospel  is  revealed  to  us  in  world  terms,  and 
is  inclusive  of  nature  and  all  of  man,  as  well  as  of  all 
men.  Canon  Freemantle  teaches  that  the  world,  lying 
in  the  bondage  of  sin,  is  subject  to  redemption. 
“ There  was  always  the  hope,”  he  writes,  “ that  at  last 
the  creation  itself  would  also  be  set  free  from  the 
thraldom  of  decay.”  In  the  deliverance  from  such 
bondage  man  is  freed  from  the  burden  of  a diseased 
body  and  is  given  an  opportunity  to  rise  to  the  powers 
of  manhood  restored  to  its  pristine  strength.  Who 
would  not  covet  a share  in  bringing  about  such  a 
restoration  ? How  exalted  such  a mission  ! 

The  conservation  of  energy  is  one  of  the  great  dis- 
coveries of  modern  science.  The  redemption  of  nature 
and  of  man  is  logically  to  be  accompanied  and  followed 
by  the  conservation  of  physical  forces  and  moral  ener- 
gies— all  to  be  turned  into  the  channels  of  a re- 
creative and  constructive  era.  Any  man  may  consider 
it  a high  privilege  to  have  a share  in  one  or  all  of 
these  processes.  The  medical  missionary  is  singularly 
happy  in  that  he  lays  one  hand  upon  the  material  and 
the  other  upon  the  spiritual  forces  which  enter  into 
the  divine  scheme  for  the  restoration  of  a universe. 
He  is  called  to  the  work  of  building  manhood  and 
womanhood  upon  foundations  wrought  into  the  physi- 
cal life,  upon  which  the  spiritual  superstructure  is  to  be 
based.  Sometimes  it  is  a re-creation  out  of  poor 
human  wreckage ; more  often  it  is  magnificent  ma- 
terial of  latent  powers  he  has  to  work  upon.  Were 
men  made  out  of  any  other  stuff,  it  might  be  a hopeless 
task.  But  the  good  work  does  not  stop  with  the  body. 
The  life  of  sense  is  superseded  by  the  life  of  the  spirit. 
That  which  is  seen  yields  to  the  unseen  and  that  which 
is  mortal  yields  to  immortality. 


THE  AIM  AND  SCOPE 


57 


II.  Medical  Missions  an  Evangelizing  Agency 

The  medical  missionary  is  first  a missionary  and 
second  a doctor.  His  work  is  primarily  spiritual  rather 
than  humanitarian.  After  all,  while  there  may  be 
many  gifts,  there  is  but  one  ministry  of  Christly  ser- 
vice through  which  the  gospel  is  propagated,  the  truth 
exemplified,  and  the  life  of  the  Church  expressed. 
“ The  true  Christian  apologetic  is  the  redemptive  work 
of  the  Church.”  It  is  this  ministry  to  men  in  the 
name  of  Jesus  Christ  that  wins  the  battles  of  the  Chris- 
tian faith,  and  winning,  finds  Him  in  the  van  through 
whom  we  are  more  than  conquerors. 

Lest  we  are  betrayed  into  undue  emphasis  and  en- 
thusiasm on  the  merely  physical  and  material  side,  we 
quote  from  an  eminent  missionary  author  : 

If  medical  missions  are  to  come  to  their  own,  in  the  mind 
and  heart  of  the  Church  on  the  mission  field,  their  undoubted 
service  to  the  cause  of  humanity  must  never  be  allowed  to 
assume  so  large  a place  as  to  divert  attention  from  their 
supreme  mission  in  making  known  by  word,  as  well  as  by 
deed,  the  gospel  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ.  Not  that  the  work 
of  healing  the  sick  is  to  be  lowered  in  estimation  and  the 
equally  mistaken  view  supported  that  Christianity  and  phi- 
lanthropy are  spheres  apart,  but  that  medical  missions  by 
declared  aim  and  constant  practice,  by  Board  at  home  and 
by  medical  missionary  on  the  field,  must  present  a sphere  of 
missionary  activity  in  which  the  dominant  note  shall  be  the 
setting  forth  of  the  evangel  of  Christ  and  the  redemption  of 
the  whole  man  for  His  glorious  Kingdom. 

Let  no  one  imagine  that  medical  missions  are  here  classified 
as  a by-product.  From  the  days  of  Christ  until  the  present 
hour  the  sacred  art  of  healing  has  been  one  of  the  most 
powerful  means  of  winning  an  indifferent  or  an  openly  hostile 
people  to  a recognition  of  the  truth.  The  medical  missionary 
preaches  by  the  silent  practice  of  his  profession  as  powerfully, 
and,  at  times,  even  more  eloquently  than  does  the  clerical 
missionary  speaking  from  the  sacred  desk.  The  medical  mis- 
sionary and  his  dispensary  and  hospital  are  not  a by-product; 


58  MEDICAL  MISSIONS:  THE  TWOFOLD  TASK 


they  are  among  the  most  irersistible  forces  for  the  Chris- 
tianization of  the  East.1 

The  spiritual  function  of  the  medical  missionary 
is  like  that  of  the  evangelist.  He  is  as  truly  a mission- 
ary as  his  ministerial  brother.  Both  have  offered  and 
been  accepted  for  the  great  work  of  the  redemption 
of  humanity,  and  they  are  equally  unworthy  of  the 
name  they  bear  if  they  fail  to  make  the  work  of  repre- 
senting Christ  the  grand  aim  and  purpose  of  their 
presence  in  the  mission  field.  As  for  the  extent  and 
reach  of  the  spiritual  influence  of  the  medical  mission- 
ary there  are  no  limitations  save  those  of  time  and 
strength. 

Medical  missions  may  not  stand  first,  but  they  stand 
a close  second  to  evangelism  in  the  work  of  redemp- 
tion. They  are  a form  of  evangelism  and  have  been 
greatly  used  of  God  in  saving  men.  They  have  passed 
from  the  pioneering  to  the  constructive  stage.  They 
are  related  not  only  to  the  individual,  but  to  the  com- 
munity as  a whole.  Medical  missionaries  have,  as  a 
rule,  been  highly  honored  and  influential  in  the  com- 
munities where  they  have  lived  and  labored.  They 
have  stood  for  education,  sanitation,  reform  move- 
ments and  all  that  makes  for  progress  in  social  and 
civic  life.  Their  work  has  been  the  best  illustration 
of  Christianity  adjusting  itself  to  the  needs  of  modern 
men.  It  is  Christianity  at  work.  But  neither  educa- 
tion nor  reform,  nor  even  healing,  important  as  they 
may  be,  should  obscure  the  one  great  aim  — the  bring- 
ing of  men  to  know  Christ.  The  doctor  must  re- 
member too  that  his  relations  to  his  patients  give  him 
exceptional  opportunities,  with  a corresponding  re- 
sponsibility, to  present  Christ.  The  difficulty  of  the 
evangelistic  missionary  in  approaching  men  as  indi- 

1 James  L.  Barton,  "Progress  Through  Missions,”  p.  61. 


THE  AIM  AND  SCOPE 


59 


viduals  does  not  apply  to  him.  They  deal  much  with 
men  en  masse,  he  comes  into  direct  and  personal  con- 
tact. The  sense  of  hostility  is  removed  and  the  barrier 
of  separation  is  broken  down.  The  intimate  relation- 
ship of  physician  and  patient  creates  a sense  of  con- 
fidence, and  seeds  are  sown  which  ripen  into  friend- 
ship. Could  there  be  a more  open  way  of  approach? 
The  doctor  shares  with  the  patient  the  divine  gift  of 
friendship  as  well  as  that  of  healing. 

Dr.  Kenneth  Mackenzie,  writing  from  Tientsin, 
March  4,  1887,  gave  the  following  reasons  why  the 
medical  missionary  should  be  active  in  evangelistic 
work : 

First  — He  can  best  influence  his  own  patients. 

Second  — His  assistants  will  be,  under  God,  largely 
what  he  makes  them. 

Third  — Unless  he  attends  to  it,  the  full  value  of  the 
medical  missions  as  a Christianizing  agency  will  not 
be  developed. 

Fourth  — His  own  spiritual  life  requires  it. 

It  has  already  been  pointed  out  that  medical  missions 
have  had  more  influence  in  disarming  fanaticism  than 
any  other  department  of  the  service.  Dr.  Pennell  of 
the  Afghan  frontier  is  a standing  illustration  of  the 
ability  of  the  medical  missionary  to  carry  the  influence 
of  Christianity  into  the  crowded  bazaar,  the  home  of 
the  Moslem,  and  among  hostile  tribes  of  fanatical 
Mohammedans.  What  happened  when  Dr.  Joseph 
Cochran  was  so  ill  in  Persia  that  his  life  was  despaired 
of?  Merchant  and  trader,  official  and  soldier,  and 
even  the  wild  Kurd  from  the  hills,  would  stop  the 
Sahib’s  servant  on  the  road  and  anxiously  inquire 
concerning  the  doctor’s  welfare.  Men  who  had  been 
jealous  for  Mohammendanism  and  haters  of  Christian- 
ity, inquired  for  him  with  tears,  and  one  was  heard  to 
say,  “ Would  that  God  would  take  us  and  spare  him.” 


6o  MEDICAL  MISSIONS:  THE  TWOFOLD  TASK 


There  is  nothing  in  human  nature  which  can  resist 
such  a ministry  as  that.  Everything  goes  down  before 
it.  Argument  begets  argument,  as  friction  creates 
sparks ; but  love  begets  love  as  sunshine  begets  warmth, 
and  genuine  sympathy  softens  the  most  obdurate 
heart. 

The  influence  of  the  mission  hospital  in  blazing  the 
way  for  the  Gospel  has  been  as  clearly  demonstrated 
in  Persia  as  in  any  other  field.  “ No  missionary 
agency  has  been  so  influential  in  contact  with  uncivil- 
ized or  semi-civilized  governments;  none  has  played 
so  large  a part  in  promoting  peace  and  good-will,  in 
ameliorating  social  and  economic  conditions,  in  spread- 
ing a knowledge  of  the  simpler  truths  of  the  gospel 
and  embodying  its  spirit  in  action,  and  in  generally 
breaking  down  prejudice  and  opening  the  way  for 
advance.  It  is  also  a fact  that  in  land  after  land  — 
the  most  notable  instance  is,  perhaps,  that  of  the 
Church  Missionary  Society  in  Central  Persia  — the 
nucleus  of  the  first  Christian  Church  has  been  gathered 
through  medical  work,  and  clusters  closely  around 
hospitals.”1  The  absence  of  hospitals,  dispensaries, 
asylums  and  homes  for  the  blind  and  helpless  in 
Oriental  lands  has  brought  out  in  unmistakable  terms 
the  beneficent  work  of  medical  missions.  It  is  prob- 
ably true  that  the  wonderful  opportunities  in  evangel- 
istic and  educational  work,  which  presented  themselves 
in  the  Near  East  before  the  great  war,  were  largely 
the  outcome  of  medical  missionary  work. 

During  the  medical  practice  of  nine  years  in  China 
the  writer  came  to  realize  with  his  missionary  col- 
leagues the  drawing  power  of  the  Christian  hospital, 
and  the  reach  of  the  ministering  hand  into  literally 
thousands  of  villages  untouched  by  any  other  agency. 


1 International  Review  of  Missions — April,  1912. 


THE  AIM  AND  SCOPE 


61 


“ The  influence  of  the  medical  work  extends  beyond 
the  bounds  of  all  other  missionary  activities.  No 
evangelist  with  a corps  of  Chinese  helpers  can  visit 
as  many  towns  as  are  represented  by  the  patients  who 
come  to  a single  dispensary.  The  work  has  no  geo- 
graphical bounds.  The  evangelist  may  be  driven  out  of 
a place  by  fanatical  mobs,  but  no  such  power  can  stop 
the  sick  in  that  place  from  entering  the  mission  hos- 
pital. . . . Consecrated  evangelists  have  come 

from  the  ranks  of  opium  sots,  saved  from  the  toils 
of  the  opium  demon  by  the  ministries  of  the  doctor. 
Thousands  caught  their  first  glimpse  of  the  Christ 
while  in  the  hospital  and  are  humbly  following  Him 
today.”1 

Jahan  Kahn,  the  son  of  a merchant,  went  down 
with  his  father  from  Central  Asia  into  Hindustan. 
In  Dr.  Pennell’s  Hospital  at  Bannu  he  first  heard  the 
gospel  story,  but  in  the  beginning  he  stopped  his  ears 
lest  he  be  defiled  by  the  words  of  the  infidel.  His 
father  died,  he  came  into  the  employment  of  the  doc- 
tor, and  began  to  read  the  Scriptures.  When  the  Mos- 
lems heard  that  he  was  reading  the  forbidden  book 
they  assaulted  him.  Dr.  Pennell  heard  the  cry,  “ Oh, 
Daktar  Sahib ! Oh,  Daktar  Sahib  ! ” Rushing  out, 
he  found  Jahan  Kahn  being  beaten  by  two  Mohamme- 
dans who  were  trying  to  stifle  his  cries  by  twisting 
his  turban  around  his  neck.  This  experience,  however, 
brought  him  to  a decision  and  public  confession  of 
Christ.  Burning  with  a desire  to  tell  his  friends,  he 
revisited  his  home  in  Afghanistan,  in  the  face  of  ter- 
rible risks.  He  was  arrested  as  a spy,  having  sewn 
copies  of  the  gospels  in  Pushtu  and  Persian  inside  his 
baggy  trousers.  Finally  he  reached  home,  to  the  de- 
light of  his  mother  and  brothers.  Not  attending  pub- 

1 Elliott  I.  Osgood,  “ Breaking  Down  Chinese  Walls.” 


62  MEDICAL  MISSIONS:  THE  TWOFOLD  TASK 


lie  prayers  in  the  Mosque,  he  bravely  told  the  vil- 
lagers that  he  was  a Christian.  They  then  clamored 
for  his  life.  That  night  he  escaped,  returned  to 
Bannu  and  married  a Christian  girl,  “ who  had  re- 
ceived the  training  of  a compounder  and  mid-wife  in 
one  of  the  Zenana  Missions.”  A call  having  come  for 
helpers  in  a mission  on  the  Persian  Gulf,  they  re- 
sponded and  went  as  missionaries  to  a foreign  country. 
“ In  addition  to  the  great  work  Jahan  Kahn  has  done 
among  the  tribes  in  the  region  of  Karak,  he  has  built 
a beautiful  little  church  of  rough  hewn  stone  — The 
Church  of  the  Holy  Name  — as  a memorial  to  his 
friend,  Dr.  T.  L.  Pennell.” 

The  Pakhoi  Leper  Hospital  is  a marvelous  illustra- 
tion of  the  quickening  and  transforming  power  of  the 
gospel.  The  father  of  Ng  Wanshaan  was  a farmer 
and  a leper.  More  than  once  a gang  of  thieves  from 
the  leper  colony  attacked  his  home  because  he  refused 
to  go  and  live  with  them.  “ Subsequently  he  went  and 
dwelt  alone  in  the  neighboring  mountains  and  there 
passed  away.”  At  seventeen  the  son  was  apprenticed 
to  a sorcerer,  married,  and  had  two  daughters.  Then 
leprosy  appeared.  Again  the  lepers  came  from  the 
colony,  seized  him,  demanded  money,  and  threatened 
to  drag  him  to  their  loathesome  village.  All  his  money 
and  valuables  were  taken.  He  could  not  earn  a living 
and  finally  sold  his  daughters.  Once  more  the  lepers 
came,  stole  what  was  left,  discovered  and  dragged  him 
off  to  their  den.  His  wife,  in  hunting  for  him,  heard 
of  the  missionary  leper  asylum  at  Pakhoi.  She  helped 
him  to  escape  and  reach  the  haven  of  rest. 

“ I,  a foot-sore  and  weary  leper,  arrived  one  morn- 
ing at  the  hospital  gate,”  he  writes  in  an  account  of 
his  life,  “ and  on  seeing  the  doctor  besought  him  to 
heal  me.  He  had  compassion  on  me  and  received  me. 
He  gave  me  food,  clothes,  a bed,  and  a little  money 


THE  AIM  AND  SCOPE 


63 


to  buy  vegetables  and  fish,  besides  medicines,  and  every 
day  took  great  care  of  me.  . . . Every  day  I heard 
the  word  explained,  and  understood  that  I was  a sin- 
ner, and  that  I must  believe  in  Jesus  the  Saviour  of 
the  world.  ...  I gave  up  all  the  sorcery  I had 
learned,  and  yielded  my  heart  to  God.  On  my  first 
visit  home  I burned  my  ancestral  tablet  and  idols,  and 
destroyed  the  bowl  used  for  burning  incense.  My 
nephew  was  very  angry  and  cursed  me,  but  I was  not 
afraid,  and  God  gave  me  patience  to  bear  with  his 
anger.  . . . The  Holy  Scriptures  enlightened  me, 
and  led  me  to  understand  the  truth.  I thus  learned  to 
love  God  with  a hot  heart.”  His  wife,  under  his  in- 
fluence and  prayers,  believed  and  walked  twenty  miles 
every  Sunday  to  attend  the  services.  He  became  a 
licensed  lay  reader  and  conducted  services  in  the  leper 
village  where  he  had  been  so  much  abused.  He  be- 
came head  master,  and  one  of  the  most  trusted  inmates 
of  the  Home.  One  leg  had  to  be  amputated,  but  he 
managed  to  make  short  preaching  tours,  selling  books 
and  receiving  no  pay  beyond  the  usual  allowance 
of  rice.  His  remaining  foot  became  so  bad  from 
the  ravages  of  the  disease  that  he  could  no  longer 
walk.  When  the  day  for  the  Holy  Communion  came, 
the  missionaries  were  deeply  touched  by  seeing  him 
crawl  to  the  table  on  his  hands  and  knees  to  partake 
of  the  Lord’s  Supper. 

In  no  land  more  than  in  Africa  is  the  force  of  medi- 
cal missions  needed  as  a pioneering  factor  in  the  work 
of  evangelization.  The  Mohammedan  advance  in  the 
Dark  Continent  constitutes  a direct  menace  to  the  mis- 
sionary forces  of  Christendom.  It  is  a standing  men- 
ace to  Christian  civilization,  and  will  be  wherever  it 
gets  a foothold.  The  erstwhile  Arab  slave  raider  has 
become  the  propagandist  trader.  That  advance  must 
be  more  than  met — it  must  be  checked.  The  entire 


64  MEDICAL  MISSIONS:  THE  TWOFOLD  TASK 


structure  built  upon  error  and  fanaticism  must  be  un- 
determined. This  can  best  be  done  by  a counter  move- 
ment — a ministry  to  the  sick  and  the  incarnation  of  the 
truth  in  the  man  who  ministers.  In  the  African  field 
where  the  advance  is  steadily  southward,  and  whole 
tribes  are  going  over  to  Islam,  the  writer  strongly 
favors  a chain  of  medical  stations  stretching  across  the 
continent  from  South  Nigeria  through  the  French 
Congo  to  Uganda.  These  should  be  not  more  than 
two  hundred  and  fifty  miles  apart,  or  within  supporting 
distance  of  each  other. 

All  life  in  Central  Africa  is  village  life,  and  all  mis- 
sionaries in  the  remote  interior  dispense  medicine 
daily.  They  have  no  choice.  Medical  missionaries 
are  scarce  and  the  native  is  in  imperative  need  of  help. 
It  was  in  the  midst  of  such  a ministry  to  body  as  well 
as  soul,  that  George  Grenfell  laid  down  his  life.  Like 
Bishop  Ilannington,  on  the  upper  reaches  of  the  Nile, 
he  too  died  with  his  face  toward  Uganda.  Grenfell’s 
dream  had  been  to  throw  a chain  of  stations  toward 
the  northeast  along  the  Aruwimi  through  pigmy  land, 
until  his  missionaries  should  strike  hands  with  those 
of  the  Church  Missionary  Society.  From  his  grave 
you  can  hear  the  lap  of  the  great  water-course  at  the 
junction  of  the  rivers  and  realize  the  genius  of  his 
strategy  and  the  grip  of  his  purpose.  Had  he  lived 
and  succeeded  it  might  have  served  to  check  the  Mo- 
hammedan advance.  His  was  a soul  cast  in  an  heroic 
mould.  He  endured  much,  but  in  his  suffering  was 
identified  with  his  Lord. 

Is  not  all  true  and  essential  Christian  life  an  identi- 
fication with  Jesus  Christ?  We  must  enter  into  His 
sacrificial  spirit  if  we  would  interpret  Him  to  the 
world,  and  that  interpretation  must  be  in  terms  of  a 
sacrificial  life.  The  sufferings  of  Christ  wrought  into 
our  lives  and  our  faith  become  by  some  mysterious 


THE  AIM  AND  SCOPE 


65 

process  “ profoundly  cooperative  with  His  in  the 
ministry  of  salvation.”  It  is  often  through  the  deepest 
experience  of  suffering  and  our  fellowship  with  those 
who  suffer  that  we  find  the  richest  ministry  of  service. 

III.  The  Ranqe  and  Relationship  of  Medical  Mission 
Work 

It  is  the  function  of  Christian  missions  to  introduce 
a new  order  of  society  among  the  peoples  to  whom 
they  go.  In  this  exalted  errand  the  medical  missionary 
has  an  important  and  distinctive  part  to  play. 

1.  He  exalts  and  conserves  human  personality.  The 
Christian  order  of  society  calls  for  efficient  manhood 
and  womanhood  and  this  is  the  alluring  goal  before 
the  medical  missionary  as  he  labors  to  redeem  diseased 
and  broken  human  life.  In  speaking  of  Jesus  Christ 
and  His  mission,  Professor  E.  I.  Bosworth  uses  the 
significant  words,?  “ Bringing  to  them  His  own  eternal 
health.”)  It  was  the  soundness  of  His  health  that 
helped  £0  make  the  sweetness  of  His  soul,  and  the 
wholesomeness  of  His  spiritual  life  gave  virtue  and 
power  in  the  healing  of  men.  He  brought  immortality 
to  light  and  bestowed  the  wealth  of  immortal  life 
which  alone  can  be  the  guarantee  of  eternal  health. 
Who  has  a sublimer  mission  than  the  missionary  who 
introduces  the  Great  Physician  into  the  sick  room 
with  all  His  tenderness,  comfort,  and  strength.  It  was 
in  His  own  words  of  prayer  that  He  said,  “And  this  is 
life  eternal  that  they  might  know  Thee,  the  only  true 
God,  and  Jesus  Christ  whom  Thou  has  sent.”  Eternal 
life  means  eternal  health. 

In  the  comparative  study  of  Christianity  and  other 
faiths,  we  find  that  a constantly  deepening  relation 
between  human  and  divine  personality  is  the  highest 
form  of  religion.  Reverence  for  personality  is  the 
strength  and  glory  of  Christianity.  It  is  the  truest 


66  MEDICAL  MISSIONS:  THE  TWOFOLD  TASK 


I test  of  the  Christian  religion,  Harnack  says,  “Jesus 
Christ  was  the  first  to  bring  the  value  of  every  human 
soul  to  light,  and  what  He  did  no  one  can  any  more 
undo.”  It  was  a rediscovery  of  the  individual  and  his 
true  place  in  the  Kingdom  of  God  and  in  the  com- 
munity of  men  that  gave  Jesus  a unique  place  as  a 
teacher.  Since  His  day  those  with  the  highest  ideals 
always  reverence  personality,  and  hold  inviolate  the 
sanctity  of  womanhood  and  of  the  inner  nature. 
Failure  at  this  point  is  failure  not  at  the  circumference 
but  at  the  center.  A low  and  enfeebled  conception  of 
God  results  in  a depreciated  estimate  of  personality. 
This  is  true  of  paganism  everywhere.  In  the  war  be- 
tween France  and  China,  a Chinese  gunboat  was  sunk 
in  the  river  Min.  The  sailors  sprang  overboard  and 
endeavored  to  escape  by  swimming  ashore,  but  were 
driven  back  with  poles  and  hoes  in  the  hands  of  their 
countrymen,  and  left  to  drown  like  rats  because  they 
had  the  misfortune  of  being  overwhelmed  by  defeat. 
When  Japan  and  China  were  at  grips  in  Korea,  thou- 
sands of  wounded  Chinese  soldiers  were  left  upon  the 
battlefield  to  die  and  rot  without  medical  care  or  at- 
tention. Outside  of  Christianity  the  individual  counts 
for  little  or  nothing,  except  where  non-Christian 
nations  have  been  influenced  by  Christian  ideals. 

Christ  discovered  the  individual.  And  in  non- 
Christian  lands  who  more  than  the  medical  missionary 
is  a conservator  of  the  discovery? 

2.  Fie  illustrates  and  communicates  the  ideal  of  ser- 
vice. This  ideal  is  fundamental  in  the  Christian  con- 
ception of  society.  Nature  abhors  a vacuum  and  so 
does  Christianity.  To  be  saved  from  sin  without  an 
objective  and  purpose,  is  to  be  saved  to  a life  of  selfish- 
ness, with  the  consequence  that  man  falls  into  sin 
again.  The  Christian  life  must  be  filled  with  desire 
for  opportunities  to  serve  and  to  save.  All  its  prepara- 


THE  AIM  AND  SCOPE 


67 


tion,  and  the  purpose  to  utilize  the  opportunity  when 
it  comes,  is  for  a higher  quality  of  service  in  this  life, 
as  well  as  the  life  to  come.  The  Kingdom  of  God 
stands  for  the  establishment  of  “ the  Christian  civiliza- 
tion of  brotherly  men.”  The  Gospel  has  no  signifi- 
cance if  it  does  not  preach  a real  brotherhood,  a 
genuine  desire  to  share  our  blessings  and  to  help  men 
out  of  their  pain,  misery  and  disease. 

“ It  remains  a part  of  the  Church’s  duty,”  writes 
Dr.  P.  L.  McCall  in  The  China  Medical  Journal,  “ in 
seeking  to  represent  Christianity  not  to  neglect  the 
exercise  of  a Christlike  Christianity.  It  is  indeed  a 
poor,  maimed,  un-Christlike  Christianity  that  does  no 
benevolent  deeds.  When  the  Church  takes  no  part  in 
philanthropic  effort  the  world  says,  ‘ The  Church  talks 
at  men’s  souls  and  lets  their  bodies  rot  away,’  the  truth 
being  that  one  of  the  Christlike  characteristics  of 
Christianity  is  gone;  while,  if  we  have  hospitals  and 
asylums  apart  from  Christianity,  this  is  to  pick  the 
fruit  and  reject  the  tree  from  which  it  grew.  There 
must  be  pari  passu  the  verbal  explanation  of  the 
gospel  truth,  and  a practical  exhibition  of  it  in  the 
form  of  loving  care  for  the  sick  and  destitute.  The 
two  methods  of  showing  the  double  scope  of  Chris- 
tianity may  not  be  omitted  so  long  as  the  Church  exists 
and  human  need  remains.” 

It  is  the  highest  privilege  of  the  missionary  to  have 
a share  in  the  unveiling  of  God  the  Father  through 
Jesus  Christ.  This  evangel  can  be  wrought  out  in 
home  and  hospital  the  livelong  day.  And  in  his  life  the 
medical  missionary  not  only  is  serving  but  is  planting 
ideals  of  unselfish  service  among  the  people.  Hon. 
Charles  Denby,  former  United  States  Minister  at 
Peking,  after  a personal  visit  to  a number  of  stations, 
has  said:  “In  China  the  missionaries  are  the  leaders 
in  every  charitable  work.  They  give  to  the  natives 


68  MEDICAL  MISSIONS:  THE  TWOFOLD  TASK 


largely  out  of  their  scanty  earnings,  and  they  honestly 
administer  the  alms  of  others.  When  famine  arrives 
— and  it  comes  every  year  — the  missionary  is  the 
first  and  last  to  give  his  time  and  labor  to  alleviate 
suffering.”  The  'work  of  the  medical  missionary 
silently  and  powerfully  makes  its  own  argument.  No 
appeal  in  words  is  necesasry  to  produce  conviction. 
In  addition  to  gifts  of  money,  of  time  and  of  service, 
especially  in  epidemics  and  in  famine,  there  is  the  self- 
giving in  which  even  life  is  not  withheld.  Herein  lies 
its  virtue,  its  power  and  its  acceptance  by  all  classes 
of  men.  Its  enemies  may  oppose  Christianity  as  a 
dogma  and  as  a creed,  but  they  accept  it  as  a mission 
of  mercy,  and  in  the  glow  as  well  as  the  shadow  of 
the  Cross  come  to  see  the  crucified  One  as  the  only 
hope  of  the  world. 

A vivid  illustration  of  the  influence  of  medical  mis- 
sions to  implant  the  Christian  conception  of  brotherly 
service  is  related  by  Mr.  Fred  Paton,  son  of  the 
famous  missionary,  John  G.  Paton.  In  writing  of  the 
leper  settlement  on  the  New  Hebrides  Islands,  he  says 
that  the  women  voluntarily  elected  to  share  the  isola- 
tion of  their  leprous  husbands.  “ The  blessing  of  God 
seemed  to  have  rested  on  these  self-sacrificing  Tanna 
women.  In  no  single  case  did  the  wife  contract  the 
disease.  In  every  case,  save  one,  the  husband  died. 
. . . We  have  our  communion  next  Sabbath.  Two 
old  cannibals  will  join.  Our  collection  will  go  to  the 
Relief  Fund  of  the  Belgians.  We  sold  the  nuts  on 
the  mission  land  last  week  for  35  shillings,  which  is 
a good  start.” 

The  lepers’  camp,  the  heroic  missionary,  devoted 
native  women,  converted  cannibals,  Belgian  relief! 
What  a combination  ! Where  can  it  be  duplicated  save 
on  the  mission  field  where  wonders  never  cease?  It 
is  unmistakable  evidence  of  the  mighty  inward  force 


THE  AIM  AND  SCOPE 


69 


which  impels  the  messenger  to  go,  drives  the  message 
home,  and  transforms  humanity.  What  if  it  is  far 
away  in  the  South  Seas,  where  the  keel  of  a vessel 
seldom  plows  a furrow  through  the  blue  waters  that 
wash  the  coral  reefs.  The  distance,  the  isolation,  the 
dread  disease,  and  the  savage  lives  make  it  the  more 
interesting  and  the  more  marvelous. 

3.  He  promotes  the  physical  well-being  of  the  com- 
munity. He  is  not  content  with  his  remedial  work 
in  hospital  and  sick  room;  he  aims  at  preventive 
measures.  He  is  concerned  not  only  to  bring  a patient 
back  to  health  but  to  return  him  to  an  improved  en- 
vironment. He  ministers  to  both  individual  and  com- 
munity health. 

The  promotion  of  public  health  education  on  the 
mission  fields,  in  an  organized  way,  is  a comparatively 
recent  development.  It  comes  legitimately  within  the 
scope  of  medical  missionary  work  and  bids  fair  to 
yield  most  valuable  results.  The  need  is  emphasized 
by  the  crude  ideas  that  prevail,  by  the  ignorance  of  the 
simplest  laws  of  health,  and  by  the  habits  of  life  which 
have  tended  enormously  to  increase  mortality. 

The  need  of  systematic  health  education  is  brought 
out  by  such  facts  as  that  48  per  cent  of  the  children  un- 
der two  years  of  age  die  in  some  sections  of  China,  and 
60  per  cent  in  Turkey.  Dr.  W.  W.  Keen,  during  his 
visit  to  Burma,  saw  hundreds  of  pilgrims  “ drinking 
the  green  scum-covered  water  ” from  temple  tanks. 
The  ingestion  and  ravages  of  the  spirillum  are  easily 
accounted  for  in  this  way.  The  rise  and  spread  of 
epidemics  of  cholera,  typhoid,  plague  and  smallpox  in 
such  countries  as  Korea,  China  and  India  are  not 
difficult  to  understand.  Dr.  C.  D.  Ussher,  in  referring 
to  the  spread  of  typhus  in  such  cities  as  Van  and 
Bitlis  in  Turkish  Armenia,  brings  out  the  fact  that 
the  military  medical  authorities  were  neglectful  of 


70  MEDICAL  MISSIONS : THE  TWOFOLD  TASK 


their  duties,  and  in  their  monumental  conceit  refused 
to  adopt  the  simplest  precautions,  until  2,800  out  of  a 
garrison  of  4,800  soldiers  perished.  Finally  awaking 
to  the  seriousness  of  the  situation,  the  suggestions  of 
the  missionary  doctor  were  adopted  and  the  epidemic 
stamped  out. 

We  were  slow  in  the  United  States  to  learn  the  les- 
son of  alertness,  investigation  of  causes  and  preven- 
tion. The  consequences  were  terrible.  Ninety-five 
times  did  the  yellow  fever  invade  our  coasts,  travel- 
ing as  far  north  as  Philadelphia,  in  the  days  of  the 
celebrated  Dr.  Rush.  These  invasions  have  cost  us 
the  lives  of  100,000  victims  and  the  single  epidemic 
of  1878  resulted  in  a loss  of  $100,000,000.  It  was  not 
until  the  splendid  achievement  wrought  out  by  Dr. 
Walter  Reed,  first  in  the  laboratory  of  Johns  Hopkins, 
under  Prof.  William  H.  Welch,  and  afterwards  in  the 
camp  in  Cuba,  where  the  heroic  Lazear  laid  down  his 
life,  that  the  world  recognized  the  possibility  of  stamp- 
ing out  yellow  fever  by  the  extermination  of  the  mos- 
quito. Dr.  Howard  A.  Kelley,  of  Johns  Hopkins, 
has  given  in  his  life  of  Reed  the  outline  of  this  mag- 
nificent piece  of  work.  He  quotes  General  Leonard 
Wood  as  saying:  “ I know  of  no  man  who  has  done 
so  much  for  humanity  as  Major  Reed.  His  discovery 
results  in  the  saving  of  more  lives  annually  than  were 
lost  in  the  Cuban  War  and  saves  the  commercial  in- 
terests of  the  world  a greater  financial  loss  in  each 
year  than  the  cost  of  the  entire  Cuban  War.” 

Such  work  puts  the  campaign  of  Dr.  W.  W.  Peter, 
in  China,  for  health  education,  upon  high  ground.  In 
this  campaign  he  has  had  the  efficient  cooperation  of 
Dr.  Wu  Lien  Teh,  President  of  the  China  National 
Medical  Association,  and  that  of  Dr.  S.'  P.  Chen,  of 
Peking,  a graduate  of  Cambridge  University,  and 
prominent  in  the  campaign  against  plague  in  Man- 


Part  of  Dr.  W.  W.  Peter’s  Public  Health  Exhibit 


THE  AIM  AND  SCOPE 


71 

churia,  two  years  ago.  Under  the  auspices  of  the 
Y.  M.  C.  A.,  and  with  the  hearty  endorsement  of  the 
body  of  medical  missionaries  in  China,  this  work  has 
commended  itself  to  the  highest  officials  in  the  re- 
public, who  have  given  liberal  sums  of  money  and 
devoted  their  time  to  committee  work  looking  to  the 
organization  of  public  health  associations.  Making  a 
splendid  beginning  in  the  capital,  the  campaign  was 
carried  to  the  city  of  Hangchow,  where  Dr.  Duncan 
Main  and  the  Commissioner  of  Police,  the  latter  meet- 
ing practically  all  expenses,  secured  an  attendance  of 
7,000  people  in  the  midst  of  pouring  rain.  The  chief 
Abbot  of  the  famous  Lin  Yin  Monastery  furnished  a 
unique  audience  by  the  presence  of  one  hundred 
Buddhist  priests  at  a special  meeting. 

The  method  pursued  by  this  doctor  is  that  of  arous- 
ing curiosity,  establishing  a point  of  contact,  the  use 
of  charts  and  object  lessons,  the  distribution  of  anti- 
tuberculosis calendars,  and,  finally,  home  thrusts  in 
the  way  of  arguments.  The  exhibit  itself  weighs  two 
and  a half  tons,  is  distributed  in  38  packages,  and  re- 
quires 81  coolies  to  carry  it.  The  audience,  its  atten- 
tion having  been  caught  by  the  pantomime  enacted, 
is  held  spellbound  by  the  lecture  which  follows.  The 
announcement  is  made  that  852,348  victims  of  tuber- 
culosis die  every  year  in  the  country.  Figures  like 
this  mean  little,  but  when  an  illustration  is  given  by 
touching  a button  and  having  a constant  procession 
of  little  men,  women  and  children  walk  out  of  a 
miniature  Chinese  house,  one  for  every  eight  seconds, 
and  falling  into  an  open  grave,  as  a bell  tolls  a funeral 
knell,  the  impression  is  simply  tremendous.  Even  the 
phlegmatic  Chinese  feel  a suppressed  quiver  of  excite- 
ment running  through  them,  and  resolve  that  they  will 
join  in  the  preventive  campaign  for  which  their  co- 
operation is  requested. 


?2  MEDICAL  MISSIONS:  THE  TWOFOLD  TASK 


Mrs.  D.  L.  Pierson,  in  an  article  in  the  Missionary 
Review  of  the  World,  in  commenting  upon  this  work 
remarks:  “The  health  question  in  China  is  but  one 
of  the  many  sides  to  the  problem  of  China’s  redemp- 
tion. But  this  question  affects  not  China  alone,  for  the 
close  contact  between  the  peoples  of  the  world,  makes 
the  health  of  one-fourth  of  the  human  race  of  vital 
importance  to  the  other  three-fourths.  Commerce  may 
carry  communicable  diseases  as  well  as  marketable 
produce,  and  preventive  measures  at  the  source  are 
twice  as  effective  as  quarantine  at  ports  of  distribu- 
tion.” 

Dr.  W.  W.  Peter,  in  impressing  upon  the  Chinese 
the  relation  between  national  health  and  national 
strength  is  teaching  a profound  and  much  needed  les- 
son. But  when  he  closes  his  lecture,  or  follows  it  on 
Sunday,  with  the  greater  need  of  the  gospel  for  man’s 
higher  nature,  diseased  and  stricken  by  sin,  the  appli- 
cation carries  with  it  additional  weight.  Every  medical 
missionary  in  going  to  the  foreign  field  should  give 
as  much  attention  to  the  matter  of  public  health  and 
preventive  medicine  as  his  time  and  his  other  duties 
will  permit. 

These  are  distinctive  ways  in  which  the  medical 
missionary  is  quietly  but  effectively  introducing  the 
leaven  of  a new  order  of  society  into  non-Christian 
lands.  But  all  that  he  does  should  be  correlated  and 
cooperative  with  the  other  branches  of  the  missionary 
service,  for,  as  we  have  seen  in  an  earlier  part  of  this 
chapter,  their  ultimate  aim  and  his  are  identical. 

A quiet,  gracious,  unselfish  man  of  pervasive  influence ; 
missionary,  administrator,  peacemaker  and  diplomatist — 
Joseph  Plumb  Cochran  . . . went  far  towards  attaining  the 
ideal  of  what  a medical  missionary  should  be.  ...  Notwith- 
standing his  high  record  of  unsparing  professional  devotion, 
both  in  the  hospital  and  out  of  it,  Dr.  Cochran  was  in  the 


THE  AIM  AND  SCOPE 


73 


heart  of  the  general  administrative  work  of  the  mission,  every 
part  of  which  was  indebted  to  his  far-sightedness  and  sym- 
pathetic wisdom.  . . . When  supplies  from  home  ran  short 
he  was  always  ready  to  vote  money  to  other  agencies  in  the 
mission  as  more  needy  than  his  own.  It  is  impossible  to 
doubt  that  there  are  already  other  doctors  who  mean  as  much 
to  their  missions  as  Dr.  Cochran  did  to  his.  Yet  those  who, 
like  the  writer,  have  some  acquaintance  with  the  work  of 
composite  mission  stations  will  admit  that,  speaking  generally, 
a closer  incorporation  on  lines  of  mutual  understanding  would 
result  in  better  work.1 

The  letters  of  Dr.  Cochran  throw  a flood  of  light 
upon  the  scope  of  his  work  and  upon  a life  absolutely 
given  to  the  service  of  his  fellowmen.  There  was  no 
reservation.  From  the  health  standpoint  it  might  not 
have  been  wise.  It  was  an  abandon  of  self.  He  lit- 
erally emptied  himself.  He  was  often  so  busy  that  he 
had  to  lock  his  doors  while  preparing  for  the  mail. 
His  correspondence  with  the  British  officials,  concern- 
ing mission,  church  and  civil  affairs,  growing  out  of 
the  opposition  of  the  people,  was  very  heavy.  Even 
on  his  mountain  tours,  in  the  midst  of  dispensing  medi- 
cine, the  doctor’s  services  as  a mediator  between  the 
oppressed  peasants  and  their  task  masters,  whether 
Turkish  or  Persian  officials,  were  constantly  in  de- 
mand. He  writes,  near  the  end  of  his  first  missionary 
term,  “If  at  home,  unless  I stay  in  bed,  I have  to  see 
or  else  refuse,  which  is  often  harder,  a great  many 
sick  and  oppressed,  while  if  I go  to  the  village  the 
press,  if  possible,  is  greater  and  sick  are  brought  along 
the  roadside,  which  they  know  I must  pass.  All  our 
circle  here  in  the  spring  advised  my  going  off  with 
my  family,  but  I could  not  make  up  my  mind  that  I 
was  not  to  rally,  nor  did  I wish  to  leave  my  work,  and 
incur  such  great  expense.  It  has  been  my  hope  and 
prayer  that  I would  have  strength  given  me  to  con- 

1 R.  E.  Speer,  “ The  Foreign  Doctor.” 


74  MEDICAL  MISSIONS:  THE  TWOFOLD  TASK 


tinue  at  this  post  at  least  for  ten  years  without  an 
absence,  but  I am  now  obliged  to  admit  that  unless  I 
can  soon  get  away  from  all  places  where  I would  be 
beset  by  Persians,  I must  before  very  long  give  up 
my  work  in  toto.”1 

What  is  the  ideal  medical  missionary?  Is  it  not 
the  doctor  who,  while  he  holds  himself  true  to  the 
highest  aim,  embraces  within  the  scope  and  orientation 
of  his  life  all  responsibility  that  grows  out  of  his 
relationship  to  his  patients,  the  community,  the  mis- 
sion and  the  Church  ? 

JR.  E.  Speer,  "The  Foreign  Doctor,”  p.  129. 


FROM  CANDIDATE  TO  MISSIONARY 


The  Hippocratic  Oath 


“With  purity  and  holiness  I will  pass  my  life  and  practice 
my  art.” 


Hippocrates — 460-357  B.  C. 


“ Plessed  is  he  who  has  found  his  work,  let  him  ask  no 
other  blessedness.  He  has  a work,  a life-purpose.  He  has 
found  it,  and  will  follow  it.” 


Carlyle. 


IV 


FROM  CANDIDATE  TO  MISSIONARY 

I.  The  Call 

Carlyle  has  said,  “ Blessed  is  the  man  that  hath 
found  his  work.  Let  him  ask  no  other  blessedness.” 
The  call  to  a life  work  on  the  foreign  field  — what 
constitutes  it?  This  question  is  perplexing  the  minds 
of  a large  number  of  earnest  men  and  women  in 
colleges,  universities,  theological  seminaries  and  med- 
ical schools.  It  is  sheer  mockery  for  any  student  to 
look  for  an  answer  to  the  question  who  does  not 
genuinely  purpose  to  live  a life  of  the  largest  possible 
usefulness.  But  where  that  purpose  directs  the  ques- 
tion, any  honest  seeker  may  learn  whether  or  not  he 
is  “ called  ” to  missionary  service.  What  are  the 
factors  in  such  a call? 

The  need  constitutes  one  factor  in  the  call.  It  is 
the  first  thing  that  impresses  a man  who  studies  the 
condition  of  the  non-Christian  world.  It  is  the  first 
impression,  the  most  lasting  and  the  most  urgent.  One 
cannot  escape  the  appalling  fact  that  millions  of  his 
fellow  beings  are  sick  unto  death,  without  medicine, 
without  surgery,  without  hospitals,  without  doctors, 
without  nurses,  and,  in  addition,  are  deprived  of  the 
gospel  of  good  cheer. 

The  desire  to  meet  the  need  is  a second  factor  in 
the  call.  The  impulse  is  God-given.  To  realize  the 
need  of  suffering  humanity  is  but  to  create  an  in- 
sistent desire,  in  the  heart  of  every  true  Christian,  to 
relieve  that  need.  To  do  less  is  to  be  lacking  in  a sense 

77 


78  MEDICAL  MISSIONS:  THE  TWOFOLD  TASK 


of  gratitude  to  God,  and  to  be  untrue  to  the  obligation 
to  give  our  fellow  men  what  we  have  ourselves  received. 

The  judgment  of  those  who  know  the  candidate 
best,  his  qualification  and  disqualification,  together  with 
the  demands  of  the  field  and  of  the  service  to  be 
rendered — all  enter  into  the  final  decision. 

A personal  commitment  to  the  will  of  God  is  the 
most  important  factor  in  the  call.  God  does  not  speak 
to  all  men  and  women  in  equally  clear  and  intelligible 
terms  concerning  their  life  mission.  But  no  one  should 
enter  upon  a life  work  without  a sense  of  vocation. 
Bishop  Brent  says,  “ God's  richest  response  comes  to 
us  in  his  gift  of  vocation.  We  are  called  by  Him, 
and  our  consciousness  becomes  steeped  in  the  power 
of  His  call.  The  sense  of  vocation  is  the  deepest 
secret  of  the  lives  of  the  greatest  leaders,  early  and 
late.  The  call  of  a need  and  the  call  of  the  crowd  are 
both  inspiring,  but  it  is  not  until  there  is  added  to 
them,  or  heard  through  them,  the  call  of  God  that 
the  leader  is  fully  equipped  to  achieve.”  Such  a call 
involves  a plan  and  it  must  be  God’s  plan.  No  man 
can  do  his  best  work  for  humanity  if  he  has  no  sense 
of  program  larger  than  his  own.  He  must  come  to 
realize  that  his  life  is  moving  with  perfect  freedom 
of  initiative  within  the  circumference  of  a larger  life, 
in  line  with  forces  that  are  infinite. 

It  was  the  growing  conception  of  a divine  program 
for  the  world  that  made  apostles  of  Galilean  fishermen, 
and  gave  to  Paul  and  to  the  beloved  physician,  Luke, 
the  imperial  vision  of  the  Roman  empire  evangelized — 
the  prayer  and  the  goal  of  their  purpose.  “ Most 
superbly,”  writes  Griffis,  in  speaking  of  Dr.  Hepburn, 
“ does  Providence  fit  men  for  their  work  and  put  each 
into  his  niche.”  This  recognition  of  Providence  in  the 
pull  and  the  push  of  a man’s  life  work  is  not  fatalism, 
for  fatalism  is  the  negation  of  freedom.  It  is  the 


FROM  CANDIDATE  TO  MISSIONARY 


79 


attitude  of  an  intelligent  and  free  man  who  realizes 
that  “ the  will  was  made  not  only  to  use  forces  less 
than  itself,  but  forces  greater  than  itself,  and  to  be 
used  by  them  through  vigorous  cooperation.”  In  other 
words,  the  voluntary  yielding  of  the  lower  to  the 
higher,  the  human  will  to  the  divine,  brings  that  tre- 
mendous reenforcement  which  not  only  enables  a man 
to  do  his  own  greatest  work,  but  to  do  it  through  other 
lives  than  his  own,  and  by  forces  far  beyond  his  own — 
a work  made  possible  only  through  the  union  of  the 
human  and  the  divine  purpose. 

When  such  a student  as  we  have  described  becomes 
conscious  of  a call  to  foreign  missionary  work,  he  need 
not  concern  himself  at  first  as  to  the  specific  place  to 
which  he  will  go.  Naturally  he  will  desire  to  go 
where  he  is  needed  most.  David  Livingstone,  with 
his  usual  directness,  wrote,  “ I would  earnestly  recom- 
mend all  young  missionaries  to  go  at  once  to  the  real 
heathen  and  never  to  be  content  with  what  has  been 
made  ready  to  their  hands  by  men  of  greater  enter- 
prise.” With  him  it  was  to  open  a way,  to  prepare  a 
field,  to  sow  the  seed,  to  wrestle  with  a herculean  task, 
and  to  have  a share  in  prizing  a continent  up  into  the 
light.  It  may  be  that  in  the  experienced  judgment  of 
his  Mission  Board  the  candidate  will  be  sent  into  one 
of  the  regions  where  today  heathenism  is  as  raw  and 
life  as  primitive  as  in  Livingstone’s  time.  But  the 
young  missionary  of  this  century  is  more  apt  to  be 
sent  to  build  upon  the  foundations  of  others,  and  to 
carry  out  plans  already  laid.  If  so,  it  should  be  done 
with  equal  fidelity  and  an  equal  sense  of  privilege. 

But  whether  it  be  to  pioneer  or  established  work  that 
he  goes,  the  missionary  candidate  should  face  it  with 
an  equal  consciousness  of  answering  that  divine  sum- 
mons which  he  has  heard  in  the  call  of  the  world’s 
need.  For  the  task  is  one  and  the  resources  that  must 


So  MEDICAL  MISSIONS:  THE  TWOFOLD  TASK 


be  brought  to  bear  on  it  are  the  same  in  either  case. 
It  is  not  by  well  laid  plans,  substantial  buildings  and 
costly  equipment,  nor  by  learned  faculties  in  educa- 
tional and  medical  work,  nor  by  the  evidences  of 
science  and  a higher  civilization  expressed  by  ma- 
terial forces,  that  the  nations  are  to  be  won.  The 
missionary  is  not  sent  out  to  evangelize  the  world 
through  his  civilization.  In  confirmation  of  this, 
Dr.  John  Lowe  of  the  Edinburgh  Medical  Missionary 
Society,  says,  “ The  agency  we  employ  may,  to  all 
human  appearance,  be  perfect,  but  without  the  ener- 
gizing influence  of  God’s  Holy  Spirit  it  is  nothing 
more  than  a splendid  machine  without  the  motive 
power.”  The  missionary  does  not  proceed,  therefore, 
on  the  basis  of  having  larger  material  resources  than 
the  non-Christian,  nor  upon  his  representing  a superior 
order  of  society,  neither  is  his  chief  reliance  upon  a 
better  organized  religion  and  more  intelligent  leader- 
ship. These  are  valuable  in  their  place  as  auxiliary 
factors,  but  they  are  secondary.  Christ  alone  is  the 
true  measure  of  our  Christian  civilization,  and  our 
ability  to  help  our  fellow  men.  Leave  Him  out  and 
our  civilization  is  no  better  than  that  of  the  Orient. 
It  is  not  worth  while  deluding  ourselves.  If  He  is 
not  in  the  personal  experience  and  life  of  the  medical 
missionary  who  goes  to  present  Him  and  His  message 
to  needy  men,  then  that  missionary  would  better  stay 
at  home.  The  strength  of  the  missionary  lies  in  the 
consciousness  that  it  is  God's  program  in  which  he  is 
to  share,  God’s  power  in  which  he  is  to  work,  and 
God’s  call  to  which  he  is  responding. 

II.  The  Qualifications 

The  qualifications  necessary  to  the  making  of  a 
medical  missionary  are  of  paramount  interest  to  the 
candidate.  “ The  qualities  required  in  a missionary 


FROM  CANDIDATE  TO  MISSIONARY  81 

leader,”  writes  Livingstone,  the  great  pioneer  to 
Africa,  “ are  not  of  the  common  kind.  He  ought  to 
have  physical  and  moral  courage  of  the  highest  order, 
and  a considerable  amount  of  cultivation  and  energy, 
balanced  by  patient  determination ; and  above  all  these 
are  necessary  a calm  Christian  zeal,  and  anxiety  for 
the  main  spiritual  results  of  the  work.” 

First  there  are  the  physical  qualifications.  There  is 
no  Christian  worker  who  stands  more  in  need  of 
robust  health,  toughness  of  fiber  and  good  digestion. 
It  was  Lord  Kitchener  who  said,  “An  army  travels 
on  its  stomach.”  A poor  digestion,  flabby  muscles, 
and  inability  to  sleep  will  lose  the  battle  for  the 
soldier;  much  more  the  physician  when  he  has  to  play 
the  part  of  doctor,  pharmacist  and  nurse.  A strong 
heart,  a good  stomach,  ability  to  sleep  under  all  con- 
ditions and  a cheerful  disposition  will  carry  the  owner 
over  the  roughest  roads.  Humboldt,  the  great  trav- 
eler and  indefatigable  student,  maintained  that  he  had 
lived  “ four  working  lives  by  retaining  a working 
power  double  the  average,  for  double  the  average  num- 
ber of  years.” 

There  are  physical  disqualifications  which  should 
prevent  the  candidate  from  being  accepted  and  which, 
if  they  develop  on  the  field,  however  well  qualified  the 
missionary  may  otherwise  be,  will  necessitate  a return. 
These  are  latent  tuberculosis  and  malaria,  chronic 
nervous  headaches,  a predisposition  to  dysentery,  and 
a strain  of  insanity.  Any  or  all  of  these  should  be 
eliminated,  since  long  and  exhausting  hours  of  work 
in  an  unfriendly  climate  will  always  develop  latent 
tendencies.  “ Few  things,”  says  Flenry  Churchill 
King,  “ are  a severer  test  or  better  training  of  the  will 
power  of  a man  than  fidelity  to  this  trust  of  his  body. 
To  be  truly  temperate  and  fully  to  meet  the  require- 
ments of  health  of  body  gives  an  ample  field  for  will 


8.-2  MEDICAL  MISSIONS:  THE  TWOFOLD  TASK 


training — an  ampler  field,  it  is  to  fie  feared,  than  most 
of  us  are  cultivating.” 

Intellectual  qualifications  make  up  another  group. 
A trained  mind  with  disciplined  powers  of  observation 
must  be  brought  to  bear  upon  the  task.  With  these 
there  should  be  mental  alertness,  a good  memory,  at 
least  a moderate  capacity  for  languages,  and  a faculty 
for  impartation.  Limited  time  and  opportunity  for 
language  study  and  research  work  will  be  such  that 
the  doctor  must  bring  to  his  or  her  task  mental  powers 
that  are  trained,  disciplined  and  under  the  control  of 
a masterful  will. 

The  question  of  age  is  one  which  the  candidate  and 
the  Board  must  consider  in  looking  forward  to  the 
foreign  field.  It  is  the  consensus  of  opinion  that  med- 
ical missionaries,  men  or  women,  should  not  go  out 
to  the  field  before  they  are  twenty-five,  and  the  prefer- 
ence of  many  Secretaries  is  for  a maturer  age,  thirty 
being  no  barrier  to  acceptance.  This  is  partly  upon 
physical  grounds,  but  largely  because  of  the  time  re- 
quired for  thorough  collegiate  and  medical  education, 
with  added  hospital  experience.  Time  in  the  end  is 
saved  by  it.  It  is  true  that  Dr.  Hepburn  at  twenty-six 
was  at  work  in  Singapore  and  at  twenty-eight  in  China, 
but  he  began  his  best  and  most  enduring  work  in  Japan 
at  forty-four.  The  opinion  of  Dr.  Joseph  Cochran 
is  worthy  of  consideration  at  this  point : “A  mistake 
is  frequently  made  in  sending  persons  to  a foreign  field 
who  are  too  young  and  immature.  But  few  persons 
under  thirty  are  physically  and  mentally  prepared  for 
the  hard,  anxious  work  which  is  to  devolve  upon  them. 
Married  ladies  should  not  be  sent  out  under  twenty- 
two  or  twenty-four.  Especially  would  I insist  that  no 
single  lady  be  sent  out  under  twenty-four  or  twenty- 
six.  The  strain  which  comes  upon  a single  lady  in 
coming  to  and  engaging  in  foreign  work  is  much 


FROM  CANDIDATE  TO  MISSIONARY 


83 


greater  than  that  which  falls  upon  her  married  sister. 
Again  the  mistake  is  made  of  sending  out  men  whose 
health  has  been  very  much  impaired,  seriously  though 
not  permanently,  from  a course  of  hard  study  and 
close  confinement.” 

Other  qualifications  may  be  classed  as  tempera- 
mental. Calmness  and  self-control  in  times  of  emer- 
gency are  as  important  as  resourcefulness.  An  un- 
limited stock  of  patience,  and  an  absence  of  hurry 
while  going  steadily  forward  cannot  be  too  strongly 
emphasized.  To  worry  is  to  lose  time,  waste  strength, 
and  lower  the  level  of  efficiency.  A happy  combination 
of  dignity  and  genial  friendliness  brings  masterful 
poise,  and  yet  leaves  the  way  open  to  that  spirit  of 
comradeship  without  which  true  leadership  is  impos- 
sible. Another  qualification  is  that  enthusiasm  which 
gives  zest  for  study  and  creates  interest  in  the  dryest 
details.  “ I am  passionately  fond  of  surgery,”  Mac- 
kenzie writes  to  his  brother  from  China,  “ and  never 
happier  than  when  I am  about  to  undertake  some  big 
operation.”  Not  an  easy  optimism,  but  a wholesome 
one  gives  a buoyancy  of  spirit  with  which  the  surgeon 
is  able  to  meet  and  overcome  difficulties  growing  out 
of  the  stupidity  of  patients  and  carelessness  of  helpers. 

Cheerfulness  under  trying  circumstances  is  a qualifi- 
cation the  young  medical  missionary  may  well  covet. 
Dr.  Duncan  Main,  shortly  after  arrival  at  Hangchow, 
found  himself  and  his  wife  up  against  some  serious 
situations.  Characteristically,  he  at  once  suggested, 
“We  must  belong  to  the  Cheer-up  Society  from  this 
day  forth.”  No  missionary  in  China  has  exemplified 
more  than  he,  by  his  good  humor  and  optimism,  the 
principles  of  such  a society.  It  was  not  long  before  he 
had  his  good  nature  tested. 

“ Well,”  began  the  Doctor  to  an  old  patient,  “ so 
your  cough  is  no  better.” 


84  MEDICAL  MISSIONS:  THE  TWOFOLD  TASK 


“ No,  Doctor,”  replied  the  old  man,  coughing  and 
expectorating  to  show  how  bad  it  still  was. 

“ Do  you  take  the  medicine  as  I told  you  ? ” in- 
quired the  Doctor. 

“ That  was  so,”  replied  the  patient. 

“ Tell  me,”  said  the  Doctor,  looking  up  his  note  book 
to  see  what  he  had  prescribed  and  the  directions  he 
had  given,  “ how  did  I tell  you  to  take  the  medicine?  ” 
“ Yes,  Doctor,”  answered  the  old  man,  “ ate  the  fat. 
It  was  not  sufficiently  strong,  I think.  And  I rubbed 
my  knee  with  the  lotion,  but  it  did  not  raise  any 
blister  or  even  make  my  leg  warm.” 

“ Oh,”  said  the  Doctor,  “ you  may  well  not  be  bet- 
ter. I gave  you  the  sulphur  ointment  to  rub  on  your 
leg  for  the  itch  and  the  medicine  for  your  cough.” 
Result:  Fresh  instructions  and  fresh  medicine,  and 
the  patient  departed. 

The  burdens  of  a heavy  and  exacting  work  are 
greatly  lightened  by  a sense  of  humor.  The  ability 
to  see  the  fun  in  a thing,  if  there  be  any,  promotes  a 
spirit  of  cheerfulness  and  infectious  mirth  which  helps 
to  make  life  endurable  under  the  most  exasperating 
circumstances.  “A  merry  heart  doeth  good  like  a 
medicine,  but  a broken  spirit  drieth  the  bones.”  Back 
numbers  of  Punch  were  an  unfailing  source  of  quiet 
amusement  to  Livingstone  when  under  severe  nervous 
tension  and  far  removed  from  civilization.  Some  one 
has  said,  “ The  lack  of  a sense  of  humor  has  turned 
many  a wise  man  into  a fool.”  Who  could  repress  a 
smile  in  seeing  a dignified  Presbyterian  missionary 
gesticulating  violently  and  slapping  his  legs  while  in 
the  pulpit,  in  Central  Africa,  when  an  army  of  driver 
ants  were  swarming  up  his  trousers?  Of  course  the 
congregation  laughed  outright  when  he  took  to  the 
woods.  No  doubt  the  missionary  himself  had  many  a 
laugh  over  the  incident. 


FROM  CANDIDATE  TO  MISSIONARY 


85 


Supremely  important  are  the  spiritual  qualifications 
of  the  missionary  candidate.  An  unshakeable  faith  in 
God  is  an  equipment  which  lies  at  the  foundation  of 
all  Christian  character  and  work.  It  ensures  per- 
manence and  success.  It  may  recognize  difficulties,  but 
never  admits  of  discouragement  or  defeat.  God  never 
gets  discouraged.  He  cannot  use  a discouraged  man 
or  woman.  Discouragement  is  a leaden  weight  and 
ends  in  paralysis  of  effort.  There  is  no  room  in  our 
religion  for  pessimism.  Christianity  can  meet  the 
largest  need,  support  faith  and  stimulate  every  faculty 
to  noble  efficiency.  It  is  the  high  function  of  the 
Christian  physician  to  rekindle  hope,  and  to  restore 
his  patients  to  vigorous  physical  and  spiritual  life. 
How  important,  therefore,  that  he  himself  should  be 
a man  of  large  faith. 

Love  as  a qualification  and  a motive  must  be  the 
perennial  fountain  from  which  all  true  and  helpful 
ministry  proceeds.  No  candidate  can  be  a true  mis- 
sionary whose  heart  is  not  constrained  by  the  love  of 
Christ.  This  is  the  reinforcing  point  and  the  re- 
inforcing power.  Love’s  labor  is  never  lost  under 
such  impulsion.  It  seeks,  it  finds,  it  conquers.  Where 
failure  has  been  made  by  the  medical  missionary,  it 
has  generally  been  at  this  point.  No  natural  gifts, 
however  great,  and  no  scientific  training  can  substi- 
tute the  tender  loving  sympathy  which  lifts  every  man 
into  a real  sense  of  brotherhood  by  bringing  him  to 
God.  “After  all,”  writes  Dr.  Mackenzie  to  a medical 
friend  in  China,  “ our  great  work  lies  in  bringing 
home  the  love  of  God  to  our  patients.  What  a glori- 
ous thing  it  is  to  be  engaged  in  such  a service ! ” 

A prayerful  spirit  must  not  be  overlooked,  for  it  is 
the  secret  of  power  with  God  and  man.  With  the 
medical  missionary,  prayer  must  become  a habit,  an 
attitude,  a working  force.  He  must  live  and  work  in 


86  MEDICAL  MISSIONS:  THE  TWOFOLD  TASK 


the  atmosphere  of  prayer  which  he  creates.  Prayer 
with  him  is  the  key  with  which  he  unlocks  the  re- 
sources of  divine  grace  upon  the  one  hand,  while  love 
opens  the  door  of  the  most  obdurate  heart  upon  the 
other.  A consciousness  upon  his  part  that  he  goes 
to  a divinely  appointed  task  and  works  under  the 
commission  of  the  Great  Physician,  generates  that 
spirit  of  faith  and  confidence  which  is  the  solution  of 
almost  every  problem  of  life.  It  -was  said  of  Dr. 
Harold  Schofield  by  one  who  knew  him  intimately: 
“ He  carried  on  his  work  in  the  spirit  of  prayer.  On 
ordinary  dispensary  days  he  invariably  sought  the 
Divine  blessing  before  he  saw  the  patients.  I have 
frequently  been  with  him  when  performing  surgical 
operations,  and  he  always  besought  God  to  make  his 
efforts  to  give  relief  effectual.” 

In  discussing  the  spiritual  qualifications  of  the  can- 
didate, the  Board  of  Missionary  Preparation  mentions 
specifically  these  requirements: 

1.  “ The  Bible — that  he  may  be  able  to  teach  it. 

2.  Practical  Christian  work — that  he  may  most  tact- 
fully lead  men  and  women  into  a new  spiritual  life.” 

It  wisely  adds  that  too  much  emphasis  cannot  be 
placed  upon  the  subject  just  mentioned.  “As  to  the 
Bible,”  the  statement  continues,  “ the  missionary 
should  have  a first  hand  acquaintance  with  it  as  a 
source  of  power;  an  up-to-date  knowledge  of  Bible  in- 
terpretation that  will  keep  him  far  from  too  narrow  or 
too  literal  views;  a broad  knowledge  of  its  relation  to 
modern  thought  that  will  help  in  bringing  it  to  bear  on 
the  characteristic  problems  of  the  present  day;  an 
ability  to  teach  the  Bible  effectively,  which  is  not  neces- 
sarily involved  in  the  most  thorough  scholarship  and 
which  can  be  developed  only  through  practice.” 

In  referring  to  practical  Christian  work,  the  Board 
makes  the  comment  that  “ the  physician  may  do  very 


FROM  CANDIDATE  TO  MISSIONARY 


87 


little  if  any  preaching;  he  may  not  engage  in  teaching, 
but  his  chief  justification  for  being  a missionary  is  that 
he  is  a representative  of  Jesus  Christ.  He  cannot 
properly  represent  Him  unless  he  knows  Him  and  he 
cannot  know  Him  without  some  knowledge  of  His 
Word.”1 

III.  The  Preparation. 

How  should  a candidate  for  medical  mission  work 
prepare  for  a life  career  so  exacting  and  so  full  of 
immense  possibility? 

The  educational  preparation  of  the  candidate  should 
not  fall  short  of  a full  college  course.  The  time  was 
when  doctors  were  sent  to  the  field  without  the  advan- 
tages of  literary  studies.  But  today  the  Foreign  Mis- 
sion Boards  rarely  accept  candidates  who  have  not  this 
educational  qualification.  The  minimum  pre-medical 
preparation  suggested  by  the  Council  of  the  American 
Medical  Association  for  students  intending  to  practice 
at  home  is  “At  least  a four  year  high  school  education, 
and  in  addition  at  least  one  year  of  college  work,  in- 
cluding at  least  eight  semester  hours  each  of  physics, 
chemistry,  biology,  and  German  or  French.”  The 
Board  of  Missionary  Preparation,  however,  coincides 
with  the  consensus  of  opinion  that,  for  a medical  mis- 
sionary, a full  college  course  should,  if  possible,  be 
taken  before  the  medical  begins.  “If  choice  must  be 
made,  a fifth  hospital  year  would  be  preferable  to  the 
last  two  years  in  college.  The  volunteer  for  medical 
missionary  service  should  realize  the  need  for  better 
preparation  than  if  he  were  planning  to  remain  at 
home.”2 

The  physical  and  the  psychical  act  and  react  upon 
each  other.  Dr.  Catherine  L.  Mabie,  of  the  Belgian 
Congo,  in  a recent  paper  on  missionary  health,  lays 


1 Board  of  Missionary  Preparation  — Third  Report,  p.  98. 

2 Board  of  Missionary  Preparation  — - Third  Report,  p.  89. 


88  MEDICAL  MISSIONS:  THE  TWOFOLD  TASK 


great  stress  upon  a study  of  psycopathy  as  it  relates 
itself  to  mental  conditions  developing  among  those  who 
are  remote  from  civilization  or  community  centers. 
The  Chinese  in  the  early  centuries  philosophized  over 
mental  attitudes,  and  had  the  germ  of  the  theory  of 
healing  by  suggestion.  Aristotle  expressed  the  opinion 
that  “ The  philosopher  should  end  with  medicine — the 
physician  commence  with  philosophy.”  One  might  or 
might  not  be  wise  in  following  his  advice  in  the  light 
of  the  experience  of  another  ancient — Anaxagoras, 
who  said,  “ To  philosophy  I owe  my  wordly  ruin,  and 
my  soul’s  prosperity.” 

Some  of  the  foremost  medical  educationalists  main- 
tain that  a medical  course  preceded  by  two  years  of  aca- 
demic study,  with  electives,  and  followed  by  two  years 
of  post  graduate  study  and  practice  including  at  least  a 
year  as  a hospital  interne,  is  the  preferable  plan,  espe- 
cially in  the  case  of  students  who  begin  medical  study 
after  22  years  of  age. 

One  modern  language  at  least  should  be  studied  by 
the  candidate,  in  addition  to  the  mother  tongue,  not 
only  for  its  value  in  medical  training,  but  also  in  order 
to  give  a knowledge  of  language  structure  and  some 
facility  in  the  acquirement  of  the  vernacular  of  the 
people  to  whom  he  is  sent.  The  medical  missionary 
will  have  less  time  for  study  than  his  evangelistic  col- 
league and  should,  therefore,  at  the  outset  be  fully  as 
well  drilled  and  quaified  in  a knowledge  of  the  prin- 
ciples which  lie  at  the  foundation  of  every  language. 
The  first  year’s  work  on  the  field  should  largely  be 
given  to  such  study,  and  if  possible  the  mission  should 
arrange  for  his  entire  time  being  devoted  to  it.  At 
least  the  first  year  of  active  service,  and  preferably  two 
years,  should  when  possible  be  free  from  administra- 
tive responsibility. 

The  medical  preparation  of  the  candidates  cannot  be 


FROM  CANDIDATE  TO  MISSIONARY 


too  thorough.  A full  course  in  a first  class  medical 
school  is  an  absolute  requirement.  Nothing  short  of 
this  can  be  considered  for  a moment.  “ It  is  definitely 
recommended  that  only  graduates  from  Class  A Plus 
and  Class  A schools  should  be  appointed  medical  mis- 
sionaries. No  one  should  be  appointed  to  medical 
missionary  service  who  has  not  had  at  least  four  years 
of  professional  training.  The  majority  favor  a course 
of  five  years.”1  The  obligation  to  do  carries  with  it 
the  responsibility  to  prepare.  There  is  an  Indian 
proverb  that  runs : 

“Half  physician,  peril  of  life; 

Half  priest,  peril  of  faith.” 

Inadequate  preparation  leads  ultimately  to  dishonest 
work  — a sin  against  character  and  a crime  against 
humanity. 

There  are  no  half-way  measures  in  this  sort  of  work. 
Too  much  is  involved.  More  than  the  average  time 
should  be  given  to  such  foundation  studies  as  anatomy, 
physiology,  chemistry,  biology,  and  pharmacology.  It 
is  often  the  case  that  medical  missionaries  are  at  great 
distances  from  their  colleagues  and  consultation  is 
impossible.  The  candidate,  therefore,  cannot  be  too 
thoroughly  grounded  in  those  branches  that  form  the 
basis  of  all  successful  medical  and  surgical  practice. 

Especial  attention  should  be  paid  to  obstetrics,  dis- 
eases of  women  and  children,  diseases  of  the  eye  and 
ear,  skin  diseases  and  tropical  medicine.  He  should  be 
proficient  in  the  latest  laboratory  technique  as  related 
to  chemical  tests  of  all  the  body  discharges.  Experi- 
ence and  skill  in  microscopical  and  the  chemical  meth- 
ods of  blood  study  will  also  be  valuable.  Bacteriologi- 
cal skill  and  familiarity  in  the  making  of  autogenous 
vaccine  will  be  of  great  aid.  Many  of  our  plants  on 

1 Board  of  Missionary  Preparation  — Third  Report,  p.  92. 


90  MEDICAL  MISSIONS:  THE  TWOFOLD  TASK 


the  mission  fields  will  be  supplied  with  X-ray  outfits 
and  in  the  future  years  these  X-ray  studies  will  play 
a larger  part  than  ever  in  diagnosis  and  treatment,  so 
it  behooves  the  new  workers  to  secure  all  the  familiar- 
ity possible  to  the  technique  of  taking  and  developing 
X-ray  plates  and  in  the  interpretation  of  them. 

In  addition,  such  branches  as  preventive  medicine, 
hygiene  and  sanitation  will  qualify  for  rendering 
effective  service  to  the  community  in  the  department 
of  public  health  in  such  fields,  especially,  as  China, 
Korea,  India,  the  Philippines,  Mexico  and  South 
America.  A necessity  for  studying  pharmacy  grows 
out  of  the  doctor  having  to  put  up  his  own  prescrip- 
tions at  first,  to  prepare  drugs  from  crude  materials, 
and  to  train  helpers  as  compounders  and  dispensers. 
It  is  hardly  worth  while  to  go  extensively  into  dentis- 
try, though  every  medical  missionary  should  be  sup- 
plied with  a set  of  forceps,  know  how  to  use  them,  and 
be  able  to  treat  an  aching  tooth. 

After  the  four  years’  medical  course,  at  least  one 
year  should  be  spent  in  a general  hospital  of  recognized 
standing.  During  that  year  the  prospective  missionary 
should  familiarize  himself  with  the  technique  of  sur- 
gery and  obstetrics,  spending  as  much  time  in  the 
maternity  and  children’s  wards  as  possible.  He  can- 
not have  too  much  experience  here,  for  the  very  first 
missionary  case  on  the  field  may  tax  his  skill  to  the 
utmost.  Several  weeks  given  to  first  aid  in  some  down- 
town emergency  hospital  would  be  invaluable.  In  ad- 
dition to  this  some  practice  should  be  had  in  filling 
prescriptions  and  in  the  making  of  pills  and  tabloid 
preparations.  This  can  often  be  acquired  during  vaca- 
tions before  graduation.  These  may  seem  to  be  minute 
details,  but  facility  must  be  acquired  before  plunging 
into  the  ceaseless  activity  which  precludes  all  prepara- 
tion after  reaching  the  field. 


FROM  CANDIDATE  TO  MISSIONARY 


9i 


It  is  the  opinion  of  an  eminent  medical  missionary 
in  India  that  the  young  medical  missionary  upon  ar- 
rival should  spend  some  time  associated  with,  and 
under  the  direction  of,  a more  experienced  worker 
before  being  put  in  charge  of  a hospital.  Since  con- 
ditions on  the  field  are  very  different  from  those  at 
home,  this  is  an  excellent  suggestion,  but  difficult  to 
comply  with  because  of  the  almost  invariable  lack  of 
qualified  workers.  The  young  missionary  almost  im- 
mediately finds  heavy  work  thrust  upon  him  and  must 
undertake  an  independent  task. 

As  to  postgraduate  work,  beyond  one  or  two  years 
of  hospital  interneship  following  graduation,  the  writer 
would  advise  its  postponement  until  the  medical  mis- 
sionary has  returned  on  his  first  furlough.  He  will 
then  know  definitely  what  he  requires  and  will  be  able, 
out  of  his  experience,  more  satisfactorily  to  meet  the 
need.  Three  months  of  postgraduate  study  under 
these  conditions  would  be  worth  a year  of  preparation 
before  going  to  the  field.  If,  however,  the  candidate 
is  under  appointment  to  a tropical  country,  three 
months  of  study  in  a school  of  tropical  medicine  after 
completing  a hospital  interneship  is  most  desirable. 

At  the  expense  of  repetition,  we  recommend  un- 
compromising thoroughness  as  the  watchword  of  the 
medical  missionary.  In  emergencies  the  surgeon  may 
be  called  upon  to  perform  major  operations  and  do 
for  a fellow  missionary,  or  a native,  what  at  home 
could  be  done  only  by  the  head  of  the  staff  or  by  a 
surgical  specialist.  He,  therefore,  cannot  acquire  too 
much  experience,  within  reasonable  limits  of  time,  be- 
fore going  out.  Service  as  a house  surgeon,  or  in- 
terne, in  a good  hospital  will  have  given  directness, 
accuracy,  and  confidence.  He  should  not  trust  to 
acquiring  technique  on  the  field.  To  do  so  would 
place  him  at  a disadvantage  with  both  patients  and 


92  MEDICAL  MISSIONS:  THE  TWOFOLD  TASK 


helpers  and  might  result  disastrously.  An  inexperi- 
enced doctor  in  China  having  undertaken,  without  ade- 
quate help,  a severe  surgical  operation  upon  a tumor 
embedded  in  the  tissues  of  the  neck,  allowed  the 
patient  to  come  from  under  the  anesthetic  in  the  midst 
of  the  operation.  The  native  friends,  hearing  his 
groans,  rushed  in.  The  sight  of  blood  threw  them 
into  a frenzy.  The  surgeon  came  near  being  mobbed, 
and  all  that  saved  him  was  the  presence  of  a steamer, 
aboard  which  he  took  his  patient  to  a hospital  at  the 
nearest  port,  where  the  operation  was  completed. 

IV.  Problems  to  be  Faced 

The  difficulties  a medical  missionary  may  expect  to 
encounter  are  legion,  but  few  of  them  are  insuperable. 
It  is  well  enough,  however,  to  look  things  squarely  in 
the  face — forewarned,  forearmed.  Some  of  these  diffi- 
culties are  as  follows: 

1.  Acquirement  of  the  language.  This  is  to  be  done 
with  inadequate  time  for  study,  growing  out  of  un- 
expected responsibilities  and  possible  exacting  domes- 
tic duties.  A working  knowledge  of  the  language  is 
the  key  to  the  situation.  The  medical  missionary  may 
rarely  lay  claim  to  a 'thorough  mastery  of  it,  but 
familiarity  for  daily  use  is  absolutely  essential.  To  do 
less  is  to  fail  at  the  point  of  personal  contact,  or  to  fall 
back  upon  an  interpreter.  To  depend  upon  the  latter 
is  to  lean  on  a broken  reed,  and  to  increase  the  prob- 
ability of  being  misunderstood.  In  the  face  of  every 
difficulty  the  language  must  be  acquired. 

“ During  his  first  year  in  India,  China  or  elsewhere,” 
writes  Dr.  Lowe,  “ the  medical  missionary  ought  to 
devote  his  chief  time  and  attention  to  the  acquisition 
of  the  language.  If  possible  he  should  reside  during 
that  period  with  an  experienced  missionary  at  some 
distance  from  the  station  where  he  expects  eventually 


FROM  CANDIDATE  TO  MISSIONARY 


93 


to  establish  his  medical  mission,  but  where  the  same 
language  is  spoken.  Unless  some  such  arrangement 
is  made,  he  will  soon  find  himself  burdened  with  the 
anxieties  of  a large  practice,  which  will  sadly  interfere 
with  his  linguistic  studies.” 

This  missionary  administrator,  after  years  of  medi- 
cal experience  in  India,  is  so  emphatic  that  we  quote 
these  additional  words:  “We  attach  so  much  im- 

portance to  the  first  year  being  kept  almost  entirely 
free  for  the  study  of  the  language  that  we  strongly 
recommend  that  his  full  medical  and  surgical  outfit 
should  not  be  supplied  until  he  has  passed  his  exam- 
inations in  the  vernacular.  Experience  proves  that  if 
at  the  close  of  the  first  year  a good  beginning  has  not 
been  made  in  the  acquisition  of  the  language,  after- 
progress is  very  slow,  and  the  missionary’s  usefulness 
suffers  irreparably  during  his  whole  future  course.”1 
It  was  with  a full  appreciation  of  this  very  thing  that 
Harold  Schofield  threw  himself,  with  all  the  intensity 
of  his  purpose,  into  the  task.  Here  is  the  record : 
“After  he  had  been  a week  in  China,  he  set  to  work  to 
learn  the  language,  with  the  determination  by  God’s 
help  to  master  it  and  not  to  ‘ play  at  Chinese.’  He  felt 
that  being  a missionary  was  ‘ a very  real  thing,’  and 
that  it  was  to  be  his  ‘ life’s  work.’  With  him  there 
was  no  thought  of  turning  back.  He  had  made  up  his 
mind  that  his  whole  life  was  to  be  spent  among  the 
Chinese  in  seeking  to  win  them  to  Jesus.” 

2.  Learning  the  native  view  point.  The  native  and 
the  foreigner  are  at  opposite  poles  in  their  thinking. 
They  represent  different  civilizations — the  growth  of 
a thousand  years  of  custom,  folk  lore,  habits  of 
thought  and  of  life.  Mr.  Dan  Crawford  has  summed 
it  all  up  in  the  title  of  his  book  on  Africa,  “ Thinking 

’John  Lowe,  “Medical  Missions:  Their  Place  and  Power,”  p.  46. 


94  MEDICAL  MISSIONS:  THE  TWOFOLD  TASK 


Black.”  It  might  be  illustrated  by  an  experience  of 
the  writer  early  in  his  practice  in  China.  He  had  pre- 
scribed crushed  ice  for  a patient  suffering  from  hemor- 
rhage. To  his  amazement,  on  the  following  day,  he 
was  shown  a couple  of  ounces  of  pounded  glass.  The 
glass  was  intended  for  the  patient,  but  fortunately  the 
family  had  awaited  the  doctor’s  return  to  ascertain  the 
exact  dose.  They  were  “ thinking  yellow.”  In  Cen- 
tral China,  in  those  days,  they  would  as  readily  have 
thought  of  giving  pounded  glass  as  pounded  ice,  the 
sound  of  the  words  being  similar.  Again,  patients 
under  the  native  system  have  been  in  the  habit  of  tak- 
ing medicine  a bowlful  at  a time.  One  soon  learns  the 
danger  of  prescribing  powerful  medicines  by  the  drop 
or  by  the  grain.  Turn  your  back  and  all  goes  down 
at  a single  dose. 

3.  Suspicion  as  to  motive.  It  is  almost  impossible 
for  the  non-Christian  to  realize  and  appreciate  the 
motive  of  the  missionary.  He  may  be  looked  upon  as 
an  emissary  of  a foreign  government — one  seeking  an 
opportunity  to  further  its  political  schemes.  If  even  a 
nominal  amount  is  charged  to  make  the  hospital  par- 
tially self-sustaining,  or  to  prevent  pauperizing  the 
people,  the  doctor  is  accounted  mercenary.  He  may 
even  be  accused  of  accumulating  funds  with  which  to 
support  his  family  or  native  countrymen.  In  Africa 
the  doctor  is  not  infrequently  asked  for  a present  in 
return  for  taking  bitter  medicine.  If  a patient  should 
become  delirious  the  medical  missionary  may  be 
charged  with  having  bewitched  him. 

4.  Inadequate  equipment.  This  is  often  a severe 
handicap.  The  absence  of  a hospital,  though  it  be  a 
small  one  with  only  a few  beds,  the  lack  of  sufficient 
instruments,  drugs,  bandages,  linen,  bathing  facilities 
and  apparatus  for  sterilizing  purposes,  is  an  embar- 
rassment to  the  ambitious  doctor  eager  to  make  the 


Outdoor  Surgery  in  Africa 
A Tubercular  Absess  Operation  at  Inliambane 


FROM  CANDIDATE  TO  MISSIONARY 


95 


best  of  the  opportunity.  If,  in  addition,  he  lacks  the 
assistance  of  an  intelligent  nurse  or  a staff  of  trained 
helpers,  his  efforts  are  greatly  handicapped. 

5.  The  exacting  demands  of  the  work — who  can  de- 
fine or  measure  them?  The  details  of  medical  work, 
whether  in  dispensary  or  hospital,  are  exhausting,  es- 
pecially where  single-handed  one  must  examine  and 
prescribe  for  fifty  or  a hundred  patients  daily.  Ex- 
planations have  to  be  repeated  endlessly,  and  even  then, 
assistants  will  commit  blunders  if  left  too  much  to 
themselves.  Heavy  responsibility  and  many  demands 
fall  upon  the  shoulders  of  the  medical  missionary. 
“ He  must  be  an  executive,”  writes  Dr.  Osgood, 
“ handling  assistants,  cooks  and  coolies.  He  must 
watch  and  instruct  every  assistant  during  the  clinic, 
operations  and  subsequent  nursing  of  patients.  The 
buying  of  supplies,  the  preparation  of  dressings,  the 
paying  out  of  monies  and  even  the  presenting  of  the 
Gospel  to  the  thousands  of  patients,  must  be  under 
his  guidance.”  In  addition,  the  climate  in  certain 
countries  is  trying,  the  hours  of  work  long,  and  rest 
by  day  or  night  constantly  interrupted.  There  is  no 
time  for  thorough  work,  and  with  it  all  a gnawing 
consciousness  of  insufficiency  to  meet  its  many  and 
varied  demands. 

6.  Barriers  of  custom  and  belief.  In  Turkey,  India 
and  China,  women  are  so  secluded  through  the  sus- 
picion and  jealousy  of  their  male  relatives,  and  often 
through  their  own  pride  and  false  modesty,  that  a 
male  physician  if  admitted  at  all  may  only  be  permitted 
to  ask  questions  of  an  attendant  in  an  adjoining  room 
or  on  the  outside  of  the  curtain  while  the  attendant  or 
patient  on  the  inside  makes  reply.  In  China  the  pulse, 
in  some  cases,  is  supposed  to  be  felt  through  a red 
cord  tied  round  the  patient’s  wrist,  and  passed  from 
behind  a screen,  or  out  of  the  window.  Happily,  this 


96  MEDICAL  MISSIONS : THE  TWOFOLD  TASK 


method  has  now  almost  passed  away.  In  India  and  in 
Turkey,  not  infrequently,  the  patient’s  tongue  may  be 
seen  only  through  a slit  in  the  veil  or  in  the  bedcurtain. 
Dr.  V.  Penrose  is  authority  for  the  statement  that  “ a 
patient  who  inadvertently  saw  and  afterwards  re- 
marked on  the  size  and  color  of  the  doctor’s  hand,  was 
starved  to  death  by  her  modest  relatives.” 

This  is  but  an  illustration  of  the  triple-plated  bar- 
riers of  alien  prejudice,  social  custom  and  religious 
caste,  which  are  well  nigh  impenetrable  to  all  ordinary 
agencies.  The  language  of  eloquence  in  the  presence 
of  such  obstacles  is  as  a sounding  brass  and  a tinkling 
cymbal.  The  utterance  of  a creed  and  the  statement 
of  dogma  — these  count  for  little  or  nothing.  But  the 
language  of  sympathy  expressed  in  terms  of  devoted 
and  patient  service,  of  willing  and  joyful  sacrifice, 
of  the  pouring  out  of  one’s  life  in  deeds  upon  the  altar 
of  mercy  for  love’s  sake,  and  for  Christ’s  sake — this 
language  speaks  in  unmistakable  terms  to  the  heart  of 
humanity.  Nothing  is  finally  proof  against  it. 

V.  Physical  Efficiency  on  the  Mission  Field 
The  consideration  of  missionary  health,  that  of  the 
mission  staff  and  his  own,  should  be  a matter  of  first 
importance  to  every  medical  missionary.  There  is  a 
close  relationship  between  health  and  efficiency.  Work- 
ing power  is  measured  in  terms  of  health.  Every  mis- 
sionary is  necessarily  an  expensive  agent.  Years  have 
been  spent  in  preparation  for  the  field.  He  has  gone 
to  large  expense  and,  sometimes,  the  Board  has  made 
an  investment  in  his  special  equipment.  Then  there  is 
the  matter  of  salary  and  the  cost  of  travel  to  the  field. 
Added  to  these  again  is  the  amount  appropriated  for 
rent  or  for  building,  and,  in  the  case  of  teaching  or 
medical  work,  provision  for  equipment  in  books,  ap- 
paratus and  instruments. 


FROM  CANDIDATE  TO  MISSIONARY 


97 


From  the  standpoint  of  economy  alone  it  is  import- 
ant, therefore,  to  preserve  the  health  of  the  mission- 
ary. For  the  sake  of  his  work,  moreover,  he  must 
make  it  a matter  of  conscience  and  take  every  reason- 
able precaution.  The  longer  the  missionary  remains 
on  the  field,  the  stronger  this  emphasis  becomes.  He 
has  begun  a life  work  that  should  be  carried  to  com- 
pletion. This  may  involve  educational  policies,  evan- 
gelistic work,  translation,  building,  the  training  of 
native  helpers  and  the  development  of  the  native 
church  itself.  He  is  also  looked  up  to  more  and  more 
by  the  natives  who  have  learned  to  respect  and  confide 
in  him  as  a counsellor  and  friend. 

A break  in  the  continuity  of  a constructive  life  and 
work  after  eight  or  ten  years  on  the  field  is  hardly 
short  of  a calamity  to  the  mission.  In  some  cases  it  is 
irreparable.  Men  and  women  cannot  be  made  to  or- 
der; they  have  to  grow.  Leadership  is  not  a thing  of 
a day.  It  has  to  be  forged  upon  the  anvil  with  many 
hard  blows,  for  trying  experiences  are  permitted  in 
order  that  body,  mind  and  spirit  may  be  tempered  for 
the  strain  of  daily  life.  To  sacrifice  a missionary  be- 
cause of  preventable  conditions  on  the  field  is  unpar- 
donable. 

Boards  that  have  required  close  scrutiny  of  health 
conditions  in  the  candidate  at  home  should  demand  at 
the  hands  of  the  mission  doctor  equal  carefulness  in 
the  case  of  the  missionary  abroad.  An  annual  physical 
examination  should  be  required.  This  would  often 
forestall  troubles  and  save  a return  home  before  the 
time  for  furlough  comes.  Frequent  returns  on  account 
of  health,  or  from  other  causes,  seriously  break  the 
continuity  of  work  and  embarrass  the  Secretaries  and 
the  Boards.  Furloughs  should  be  regular  and  long 
enough  for  recuperation.  The  interval  between,  and 
the  length  of  time  at  home,  depends  upon  the  field  and 


98  MEDICAL  MISSIONS:  THE  TWOFOLD  TASK 


the  nature  of  the  work.  Missionaries  in  Central  Africa 
are  permitted  to  return  in  three  years.  Merchants  and 
officials  have  even  shorter  terms. 

The  missionary  while  at  home  should  not  travel  or 
speak  until  he  has  had  a few  weeks  of  absolute  rest. 
To  plunge  into  postgraduate  study,  if  he  be  a medical 
missionary,  or  into  deputation  work  in  the  case  of  an 
evangelistic  missionary,  and  to  keep  it  up  until  the 
time  for  return  to  the  field,  leaves  him  fagged  and  in 
worse  condition  than  when  he  came.  From  too  heavy 
drafts  upon  his  nerve  force,  he  is  in  even  greater 
danger  of  breaking  down  during  his  second  term  on 
the  field  than  during  the  first.  The  initial  three  months 
at  home  might  well  be  spent  in  rest  and  light  study,  to 
be  followed  by  six  months  of  travel  and  visitation,  and 
the  last  three  in  further  preparation  for  the  field. 

The  importance  of  wholesome  food  as  related  to  the 
health  of  the  missionary  on  the  field,  cannot  be  over- 
estimated. The  too  free  use  of  canned  goods  should 
be  avoided.  And  yet  in  some  fields,  where  native  food 
is  indigestible  and  it  is  difficult  to  get  the  articles  of 
diet  to  which  one  has  been  accustomed  at  home,  there 
is  little  alternative.  The  best  rule  is  to  eat  sparingly 
of  canned  meat  and  rich  food,  and  to  utilize  the  few 
things  which  can  be  grown  by  the  natives,  but  to  have 
them  cooked  or  otherwise  sterilized.  This  applies 
especially  to  fruits  and  certain  vegetables.  One  should 
guard  against  unripe  and  over-ripe  fruit,  particularly 
in  the  tropics. 

The  natives  in  the  interior  of  Argentina,  Uruguay, 
Rio  Grande  Do  Sul,  Brazil,  and  Mexico,  eat  large 
quantities  of  jerked  beef.  Meat  is  sold  in  Uruguay 
and  Rio  Grande  “ by  the  yard,”  having  been  dried  in 
the  sun  in  long  strips.  Upon  such  a diet  tape-worm 
flourishes,  and  the  “ tape-worm  doctor  ” carries  on  a 
lucrative  practice.  In  many  mission  fields  it  is  not  safe 


FROM  CANDIDATE  TO  MISSIONARY 


99 


to  drink  unboiled  and  unfiltered  water.  Every  mis- 
sionary should  make  a firm  rule  against  the  use  of 
unboiled  water.  In  the  home  the  supply  of  drinking 
water  should  be  under  the  immediate  personal  super- 
vision of  the  missionary.  No  native  servant  should  be 
trusted  with  this  detail.  The  Chinese  for  centuries 
have  been  tea  drinkers.  The  habit  has  doubtless  saved 
them  from  some  of  the  ravages  of  typhoid  fever  and 
dysentery.  As  it  is,  these  and  other  diseases  growing 
out  of  unsanitary  conditions  claim  their  victims  by  the 
tens  of  thousands.  Shallow  wells,  frequently  sunk 
through  the  ruins  of  old  cities,  or  in  the  neighborhood 
of  graves,  with  canals  teeming  with  human  and  animal 
life,  as  in  Soochow,  China,  or  in  Osaka,  Japan,  make 
in  absolutely  unsafe  to  use  the  water  without  boiling 
it.  This  is  true,  as  well,  of  the  tropics.  The  smaller 
streams  in  the  forest  sections  of  the  Belgian  Congo  and 
French  Equatorial  Africa,  are  sometimes  a deep  wine 
color  from  organic  matter.  The  writer  has  marched 
days  at  a time  in  the  tropics  without  drinking  anything 
but  the  insipid  boiled  water  from  his  water  bottle,  or 
a cup  of  coffee  or  tea.  The  only  time  he  was  put  out 
of  commission  was  after  drinking  water  from  the 
upper  Congo,  when  the  careless  servant  had  failed  to 
boil  it  sufficiently. 

Flies,  dangerous  in  the  homeland,  are  more  deadly 
in  the  Orient.  Many  missionaries  have  lost  their  lives, 
or  been  invalided  home,  on  account  of  various  forms 
of  enteritis.  Usually  careful  screening  of  the  home — 
especially  the  kitchen  and  dining  room — and  particular 
care  as  to  sterility  of  food  and  water,  when  itinerating, 
will  save  this  waste  of  life. 

The  most  fatal  months  in  the  Northern  Sub-Tropics 
are  August  and  September.  With  the  opening  of  sum- 
mer rigid  rules  should  be  established  and  well  ob- 
served. All  raw  food  should  be  banished  from  the 


100  MEDICAL  MISSIONS:  THE  TWOFOLD  TASK 


table  except  such  small  fruit  and  vegetables  as  are 
raised  directly  under  the  eye  of  the  missionary.  Prac- 
tically all  native  vegetables  are  fertilized  with  human 
excreta  and  hence  abound  with  the  ova  of  intestinal 
parasites,  as  well  as  with  the  active  germ  of  dysentery 
and  cholera. 

With  care,  however,  and  accurate  supervision  many 
missionaries  are  able  to  furnish  their  tables  safely 
with  raw  lettuce,  tomatoes,  cabbage,  etc.  But  the  rule 
to  adopt  is  that  they  be  banished  from  June  1st  to 
September  30th,  unless  they  bring  with  them  high  class 
credentials. 

Keep  the  head  cool,  the  feet  dry,  and  the  bowels 
open,  is  a good  rule  for  the  mission  field.  A pith 
helmet  should  be  worn  for  the  tropical  sun  and  of 
sufficient  size  to  protect  the  nape  of  the  neck.  Colored 
glasses  will  guard  the  eyes  from  the  blazing  light,  and 
in  Syria,  Egypt  and  Mexico,  from  the  glare  of  streets 
and  blank  walls.  Where  hematuric  fever  prevails, 
clothing  and  bedding  should  be  kept  dry, — a very  diffi- 
cult thing  in  travelling,  when  perspiration  is  free  and 
rain  a daily  occurrence.  Many  Europeans  have  lost 
their  lives  on  long  marches  from  becoming  exhausted, 
overheated,  and  then  chilled  in  the  shade.  Attacks  of 
hematuric  fever  are  more  frequent  with  older  resi- 
dents and  those  who  have  had  repeated  attacks  of 
malarial  fever  without  taking  sufficient  care  to  break 
them.  It  was  a marvel  that  Livingstone  escaped, 
especially  after  his  medicine  chest  had  been  stolen. 
Dr.  George  Grenfell  of  the  Congo  country  and  many 
other  pioneers  have  succumbed  to  this  dangerous 
malady.  In  nearly  every  case,  however,  it  must  be 
said  that  attacks  followed  the  violation  of  the  basic 
laws  of  health. 

Sleep  is  nature’s  restorer  and  is  better  than  any 
tonic.  No  time  is  to  be  gained  on  the  mission  field  by 


FROM  CANDIDATE  TO  MISSIONARY  ioi 


cutting  off  the  hours  that  should  be  given  to  sleep. 
The  habit  of  working  far  into  the  night  is  pernicious, 
and  in  most  cases  will  shorten  life  or  impair  vitality. 
In  sections  where  the  mosquito  and  the  tsetse  fly 
abound,  one  should  sleep  under  a net,  whether  by  day 
or  by  night.  The  fly  appears  in  the  morning  and  dis- 
appears about  five  in  the  afternoon,  when  his  place  is 
taken  by  the  mosquito. 

Work  to  the  point  of  mental  exhaustion  should  al- 
ways be  avoided.  It  produces  brain  fag.  The  mission- 
ary should  keep  himself  fit.  To  keep  at  the  highest 
possible  state  of  efficiency  is  an  aim  to  be  conscien- 
tiously attained  as  far  as  is  possible.  Cheerfulness  is 
a stimulus  to  activity  and  health.  Moods  should  be 
avoided.  Pessimism  sees  the  hole  in  the  doughnut 
while  optimism  “ takes  the  cake.”  Sociability  should 
be  cultivated.  On  the  mission  station,  one  evening  a 
month  might  well  be  devoted  to  a social  gathering, 
when  matters  in  the  outside  world  can  be  discussed, 
yarns  exchanged,  music  furnished  and  refreshments 
served.  It  should  be  a time  of  complete  “ let  down.” 
To  talk  shop  under  such  circumstances  would  be  un- 
pardonable. Few  men  really  know  how  to  let  go,  but 
all  should  practice  the  art.  “ Physical  relaxation  is 
necessary  to  sustained  energy.”  The  strings  of  a 
violin  can  be  keyed  up  to  the  highest  pitch,  but  if  kept 
tense  they  will  inevitably  snap. 

The  missionary  on  the  station  should  take  a little 
time  daily  for  recreation  and  exercise.  Even  the  busy 
doctor  should  aim  at  this.  Pie  should  also  have  some 
side  study,  such  as  botany,  natural  history,  folk  lore, 
etc.,  which  should  be  of  sufficient  interest  to  divert  his 
attention  for  a while  from  the  regular  routine.  In 
the  tropics,  it  is  the  custom  to  knock  off  at  midday 
and  have  a siesta  for  at  least  a half  hour  after  the 
noon  meal.  It  is  the  part  of  wisdom  to  observe  this 


102  MEDICAL  MISSIONS:  THE  TWOFOLD  TASK 


conscientiously,  nervous  energy  and  working  force  be- 
ing conserved  thereby.  Prof.  James  in  his  “ Psychol- 
ogy ” makes  the  striking  observation  that  “ the  great 
thing,  in  all  education,  is  to  make  our  nervous  system 
our  ally  instead  of  our  enemy.  It  is  to  fund  and 
capitalize  our  acquisitions,  and  live  at  ease  upon  the 
interest  of  the  fund.” 

The  medical  missionary  should  take  a personal  in- 
terest in  the  location  of  residences  on  the  station  with 
a view  to  drainage,  sunshine  and  prevailing  winds. 
There  should  be  ample  space  underneath  buildings  for 
ventilation.  Ventilators  should  be  large,  floors  well 
above  ground,  and  material  used  that  will  absorb  the 
least  amount  of  moisture.  “ No  wall  should  be  built 
without  an  adequate  damp  course  of  some  substance 
impervious  to  water.  This  course  should  be  laid  in  all 
walls  and  placed  about  one  foot  above  the  ground  level 
and  one  foot  or  more  below  the  first  floor  level.  Good 
heavy  quality  of  tar  roofing  paper  can  be  used  if 
granite  or  slate,  or  some  other  impervious  stone,  is 
not  available.”  In  tropical  regions  a double  roof  should 
be  put  on  with  an  intervening  air  space  if  the  materials 
and  the  appropriation  will  allow.  This  space  should 
be  screened  from  snakes  and  bats,  and  the  windows 
from  mosquitoes  and  flies.  No  better  investment  can 
be  made  than  in  wire  gauze  for  screening  houses  and 
hospital  wards.  Thorough  sewerage  should  be  carried 
out  on  the  missionary  premises,  the  surface  drained, 
accumulation  of  garbage  and  stagnant  water  avoided, 
an  ample  supply  of  pure  water  provided  for  and  a war 
of  extermination  declared  upon  insects  of  all  kinds, 
and  also  rats  and  mice.  Regular  medical  inspection 
of  all  premises  should  be  insisted  upon  by  the  home 
Board.  To  exhort  the  natives  about  village,  com- 
munity and  public  health  and  at  the  same  time  to  have 
the  mission  compound  in  an  unsanitary  condition  is  to 


FROM  CANDIDATE  TO  MISSIONARY  103 


bring  a serious  reflection  upon  the  sincerity  and  com- 
mon honesty  of  the  missionaries  themselves,  and  espe- 
cially upon  the  physician  in  charge. 

Regular  and  periodical  inspection  of  school  build- 
ings, dormitories  and  work  shops  upon  the  mission 
premises  should  be  made  by  a committee  of  three,  one 
being  the  doctor.  If  this  were  thoroughly  carried  out, 
many  an  institution  would  be  spared  the  too  frequent 
outbreaks  of  typhoid  and  malarial  fevers,  dysentery 
and  other  troubles,  the  forestalling  of  which  would 
prevent  suspension  of  work,  loss  of  life  and  all  the 
accompanying  demoralization  and  expense. 

Great  and  useful  missionaries,  as  a rule,  have  been 
long-lived.  This  has  not  been  due  solely  to  the  sur- 
vival of  the  physically  strongest.  It  has  been  the 
result  of  a high  purpose,  regular  habits,  a simple  diet 
and  sensible  precautionary  measures,  learned  by  ex- 
perience, which  have  enabled  them  to  adjust  them- 
selves to  the  most  unfavorable  climates  and  conditions. 
Illustrations  of  this  will  be  found  in  the  lives  of 
Moffat  of  Africa,  Fidelia  Fiske  of  the  Near  East, 
Scudder  of  India,  Kerr  of  China,  Hepburn  of  Japan, 
and  Post  of  Syria.  This  discussion  of  missionary 
health  as  it  relates  itself  to  the  duties  and  work  of  the 
medical  missionary,  has  been  made  in  detail  because  of 
its  tremendous  importance  in  the  safeguarding  of  the 
lives,  and  the  conservation  of  the  vital  forces  of  those 
noble  and  heroic  men  and  women,  native  and  foreign, 
upon  whose  shoulders  rests  the  burden  of  the  evan- 
gelization of  the  non-Christian  world. 


MASTER  WORKMEN  AND  THEIR 
IMPLEMENTS 


“ The  secret  of  the  finest  and  the  largest  work  is  to  keep 
persistently  at  one’s  best.” 

Henry  Churchill  King. 

“ Medical  Missions  are  indeed  a grand  weapon  in  the  hand 
of  God  for  removing  prejudice,  winning  the  affections  of  the 
people  and  at  the  same  time  of  directing  their  minds  to 
Christ.” 


Dr.  Duncan  Main. 


V 


MASTER  WORKMEN  AND  THEIR  IMPLE- 
MENTS 

At  this  point  we  turn  to  look  at  the  achievements  of 
the  medical  missionary  and  the  equipment  with  which 
his  work  is  done. 

I.  Achievements  of  Master  Workmen 

It  has  already  been  pointed  out  that  the  medical 
missionary  is  essentially  a pioneer.  He  is  a pathfinder. 
Like  the  Norseman  with  his  pick,  he  finds  a way  or 
makes  one.  There  comes  to  him  the  joy  of  breaking 
new  ground,  of  sowing  seed  in  virgin  soil,  and  of 
reaping  harvests  from  fields  where  the  gospel  of 
health  and  of  good  cheer  has  never  been  presented.  It 
is  not  the  lure  of  romance  that  draws  him,  though  the 
facts  are  more  wonderful  than  fiction.  It  is  not  the 
“ Call  of  the  Wild,”  though  in  some  fields  he  cannot 
escape  the  thrill  of  pushing  into  unexplored  regions, 
of  following  the  trail  through  jungle  grass,  of  blazing 
the  way  through  dense  forests,  of  mapping  mountains 
and  charting  rivers,  reducing  languages  to  writing, 
recording  strange  diseases  and  the  action  of  new  drugs. 
It  is  to  open  a way  through  the  body  to  the  soul  of 
humanity,  and  to  the  heart  of  the  world. 

It  was  Dr.  Thomas,  whose  patient,  Krishna  Pal, 
became  William  Carey’s  first  convert  in  India;  Peter 
Parker,  who  opened  the  Chinese  Empire  with  his 
lancet ; Livingstone,  who  explored  the  Dark  Continent 
and  probed  the  open  sore  of  the  world;  Sims,  who 
helped  George  Grenfell  chart  the  tributaries  of  the 
Congo  and  made  them  available  for  missionary  work, 

107 


xo8  MEDICAL  MISSIONS:  THE  TWOFOLD  TASK 


It  was  Grant,  who  with  his  medicine  chest  scaled  the 
tablelands  of  Kurdistan;  Kerr,  who  established  the 
first  insane  asylum  in  the  Far  East;  Osgood,  who  put 
Gray’s  Anatomy  into  Chinese ; Van  Dyck,  who  trans- 
lated the  Bible  into  Arabic ; Allen,  who  opened  Korea 
to  Protestant  Missions ; Clara  Swain,  who  penetrated 
the  zenanas  of  India;  Howard  King,  who  captured 
the  yamens  of  China ; Pennell,  who  tamed  and  won 
the  warlike  Afghans,  and  Loftis,  who  climbed  the  roof 
of  Asia  and  laid  down  his  life  for  Tibet. 

Medical  missions  have  been  pioneered  by  such 
spirits  as  these ; science  built  up,  literature  enriched, 
museums  filled  with  their  contributions;  while  geo- 
graphical societies  and  learned  academies  have  honored 
themselves  by  electing  them  to  membership  and  be- 
stowing upon  them  their  medals.  Decorations  have 
been  conferred  on  them  by  kings  and  potentates  partly 
because  of  their  achievements,  but  especially  because 
of  their  personal  character  and  worth.  They  have 
been  a moral  asset  in  every  country  where  they  have 
lived  and  wrought.  Millions  have  been  made  more 
accessible  through  their  efforts,  by  the  solution  of 
geographical  problems,  by  the  breaking  down  of  caste, 
by  the  winning  of  confidence,  and  by  the  creation  of 
facilities  for  communicating  truth.  Whole  nations 
and  tribes,  have  been  brought,  through  their  skill  and 
diplomacy,  within  reach  of  the  Church  and  a Chris- 
tian civilization,  and  best  of  all  they  have  won  in- 
numerable trophies  for  their  Lord.  The  hour  has 
struck  for  the  Church  to  advance  by  taking  advantage 
of  the  achievements  of  these  master  workmen  that 
the  Kingdom  of  God  may  be  established  in  all  the 
earth. 

Wherever  medical  missionaries  have  gone  they  have 
been  instrumental  in  the  establishment  of  local  and 
national  hospitals  and  dispensaries,  emergency  hos- 


WORKMEN  AND  THEIR  IMPLEMENTS  109 


pitals  at  arsenals  and  in  factory  centers,  institutes 
for  the  deaf  and  dumlb  and  blind,  camps  for  lepers 
and  refugees,  more  intelligent  and  effective  quarantine, 
better  sewerage,  co-operation  in  stamping  out  epi- 
demics, relief  for  the  sick  poor,  circulation  of  literature 
and  sanitation  and  health  exhibits  for  the  better  edu- 
cation both  of  the  people  and  governing  classes.  Their 
membership,  irrespective  of  nationality  or  creed,  in 
municipal  and  provincial  sanitary  boards  is  a high 
compliment  to  their  intelligence  and  devotion.  They 
have  made  contributions  of  immense  value  to  the 
literature  of  medicine,  especially  with  reference  to 
diseases  in  tropical  and  sub-tropical  climates.  Dr. 
Barton  makes  this  observation : “ In  the  Schools  of 
Tropical  Medicine  in  London  and  Liverpool,  the  re- 
ports of  medical  missionaries  in  Africa  and  their 
observations  of  African  diseases  constitute  the  best 
and  most  reliable  data  upon  the  subject.” 

In  other  spheres  they  have  shown  equal  intelligence 
and  ability  and,  being  actuated  by  a distinterested  pur- 
pose, their  influence  has  been  almost  unlimited.  It  was 
the  testimony  of  an  influential  Persian,  who  knew  and 
esteemed  Dr.  Cochran  highly,  that  he  was  the  greatest 
diplomat  who  had  ever  come  to  Persia.  No  one  had 
the  influence  he  exerted  over  princes  and  governors. 
“ In  all  his  career  it  has  never  been  known,  in  any  in- 
stance, that  his  word  or  request  was  refused  from  the 
Government  side.” 

The  editor  of  the  International  Review  of  Missions 
after  going  over  several  volumes,  speaks  emphatically 
of  medical  missions  as  “ one  of  the  largest  assets  of 
the  Church  in  her  worldwide  enterprise,”  and  raises 
the  question : “ Has  the  value  of  this  missionary 

agency  been  fully  utilized,  or  are  its  resources  still 
in  part  unexplored?”  Without  hesitation  we  reply 
that  it  is  one  of  the  most  valuable  assets ; that  it  has 


iio  MEDICAL  MISSIONS:  THE  TWOFOLD  TASK 


not  been  fully  utilized ; that  its  resources  have  never 
been  fully  explored.  It  might  be  justly  termed  the 
neglected  arm  of  the  missionary  service.  The  number 
of  medical  missionaries  is  pitifully  inadequate.  For 
lack  of  equipment  and  trained  help  the  missionary 
doctor  has  not  had  more  than  half  a chance.  His 
success  in  the  face  of  this  has  been  remarkable.  What 
might  he  not  be  able  to  accomplish  in  behalf  of  the 
evangelization  of  the  world  if  given  a full  opportunity, 
especially  in  those  regions  where  he  is  the  most  poten- 
tial factor  for  the  restoration  and  uplift  of  humanity? 

II.  Some  Notable  Examples 

Let  us  now  take  a brief  glance  at  the  careers  of  a 
few  of  these  Master  Workmen. 

The  first  missionaries  to  India  were  Danes.  They 
had  medical  work  at  Tranquebar  and  Madras  in 
1730-32.  Dr.  John  Thomas,  at  first  a physician  in 
civil  life,  returned  to  England  and  urged  the  need  of 
a suffering  people.  He  then  went  back  to  the  field, 
as  medical  missionary,  with  William  Carey.  For  six 
years  Carey  labored  without  a convert.  Krishna  Pal, 
a carpenter,  was  hurt.  He  was  cured  by  Dr.  Thomas, 
and  became  the  first  baptized  convert  of  the  English 
Baptist  Mission. 

Dr.  John  Scudder,  of  New  York  City,  College  ol 
Physicians  and  Surgeons,  went  out  under  the  Ameri- 
can Board  in  1819,  the  call  having  come  to  him  while 
attending  a woman  patient,  through  the  reading  of  a 
tract,  “ The  Conversion  of  the  World.”  His  first  field 
was  the  Island  of  Ceylon.  He  afterwards  removed 
to  Madras  on  the  mainland.  Out  of  this  home  and 
family  there  came  seven  sons,  two  daughters  and  four 
grandchildren  who  gave  themselves  to  work  in  India. 

Gutzlaff  was  one  of  the  most  remarkable  of  medical 
pioneers.  While  interpreter  to  the  British  Government 


WORKMEN  AND  THEIR  IMPLEMENTS  in 


at  Hong  Kong  he  prosecuted  his  studies,  extended  his 
practice  and  continued  his  explorations,  making,  from 
1831  to  1835,  seven  journeys  along  the  China  coast, 
at  the  peril  of  his  life.  In  his  enthusiasm  “ he  even 
engaged  himself  as  mate  on  a Chinese  junk,  and  at 
another  time  as  cook,  in  order  to  visit  places  to  which 
no  foreign  vessels  sailed,  and  obtain  opportunities 
for  making  known  the  truth  as  it  is  in  Jesus.”1  Dr. 
Hudson  Taylor  frequently  referred  to  him  as  “ The 
grandfather  of  the  China  Inland  Mission.”  It  was 
through  his  representations  that  the  idea  of  an  inter- 
denominational missionary  societey  for  the  interior  of 
China  was  lodged  in  Taylor’s  mind.  Though  not,  in 
the  technical  sense,  a missionary,  Gutzlaff  lived  for 
one  thing  only  — the  extension  of  the  Kingdom  of 
God.  To  this  he  devoted  his  large  income,  his  re- 
markable powers  of  mind  and  body,  and  all  his  avail- 
able time.  He  wrote  and  published  eight  works  in  no 
fewer  than  eight  languages,  including  a translation  into 
the  Chinese  of  the  Old  and  New  Testament.2 

Eight  years  after  Jenner  made  the  discovery  of  vac- 
cination in  1797,  Dr.  Alexander  Pearson,  surgeon  of 
the  East  India  Company,  introduced  it  into  the  Chinese 
Empire.  His  leading  assistant  prepared  a treatise  of 
100  pages  on  the  subject  and  in  thirty  years  vaccinated 
more  than  a million  patients.  An  ode  in  praise  of  the 
discoverer  was  written  by  the  Chinese  Governor  Gen- 
eral. Dr.  T.  H.  Colledge,  also  of  the  East  India 
Company,  was  the  first  to  urge  “ upon  the  various 
missionary  societies  the  desirableness  of  employing 
medical  missionaries.” 

Dr.  Peter  Parker,  who  was  sent  out  by  the  American 
Board,  had  the  honor  of  being  the  first  regularly  ap- 
pointed medical  missionary  to  any  field  under  a Mis- 

1 See  Ball’s  China,  published  in  1854,  PP-  59.  60. 

* “ Hudson  Taylor  in  Early  Years,”  pp.  88,  89. 


1 12  MEDICAL  MISSIONS:  THE  TWOFOLD  TASK 


sionary  Society.1  He  opened  work  in  Canton  in  1835 
and  treated  over  50,000  patients.  Through  his  in- 
fluence, in  1838,  the  Medical  Missionary  Society  of 
China  was  organized.  He  visited  Scotland,  on  his 
way  home,  and  was  instrumental,  in  1841,  in  the  organ- 
ization of  the  Edinburgh  Medical  Missionary  Society. 
Dr.  John  Lowe  was  its  Secretary  for  years,  a man 
who  has  rendered  an  invaluable  contribution,  not  only 
through  his  writings,  but  also  by  stimulating  the  ex- 
tension of  the  work  in  many  lands. 

The  hospital  which  Dr.  Parker  established  continues 
to  be  supported  by  the  Medical  Missionary  Society  of 
Canton,  the  evangelistic  work  being  conducted  under 
the  auspices  of  the  American  Presbyterian  Mission. 
Dr.  J.  G.  Kerr,  who  became  a recognized  authority 
upon  surgery  throughout  the  world,  was  in  charge  of 
this  hospital  for  many  years.  The  value  and  influence 
of  his  work  in  Canton,  and  throughout  that  section  of 
the  Empire,  has  probably  never  been  surpassed  in  any 
land.  Some  700,000  patients  were  treated  by  him,  and 
his  associates,  and  over  48,000  operations  performed. 
Among  these  were  some  1,300  operations  for  urinary 
calculus  — an  operation  which,  in  those  days,  was  very 
difficult  and  dangerous.  In  addition  to  all  this,  most 
of  the  textbooks  used  in  teaching  his  medical  students 
were  prepared  through  his  indefatigable  energy.  He 
gave  forty-four  of  his  best  years  to  service  in  China ; 
labored  for  two  years  among  the  Chinese  in  California ; 
trained  some  200  medical  students ; was  for  years 
President  of  the  Medical  Missionary  Society  of  Can- 
ton, and  in  1887  was  unanimously  elected  first  Presi- 
dent of  the  Medical  Missionary  Association  in  China. 

It  is  difficult  to  say  which  one  admires  most,  the 
simple  childlike  faith  of  the  men  and  women  in  the  van- 
guard of  a Christian  civilization  who  have  been  hammer- 

1 Dr.  Scudder  was  not  appointed  as  a medical  missionary. 


WORKMEN  AND  THEIR  IMPLEMENTS  113 


ing  at  the  outworks  of  Mohammedanism,  or  the  wonder- 
ful ability  with  which  the  work  has  been  prosecuted 
under  every  disadvantage.  Dr.  Azariah  Smith  of 
Yale,  who  laid  down  his  life  at  Aintab,  in  1851,  after 
great  and  successful  labors  in  northern  Syria,  was  a 
man  of  wide  and  accurate  scholarship  and  made  many 
valuable  contributions  to  medical  journals  and  to  the 
American  Oriental  Society.  Yet  he  was  a man  of 
humility  and  beautiful  faith.  His  absolute  trust  in 
God  is  described  by  a fellow  missionary.  “ If  the  Lord 
should  tell  me,”  said  the  doctor,  “ to  take  a small  ham- 
mer and  go  out  and  pound  with  it  a great  granite  rock, 
I should  have  nothing  to  do  but  to  go  on  till  He  bade 
me  stop ; nor  would  it  belong  to  me  to  ask  the  reason 
for  the  command,  or  to  be  anxious  about  results.  My 
whole  duty  would  consist  in  doing  as  He  required, 
because  He  required  it.”  When  Dr.  Smith  arrived  at 
Aintab  he  found  the  mind  of  the  native  populace 
greatly  inflamed  against  the  Americans.  He  slowly 
but  surely  gained  a footing.  It  was  said  of  him, 
“ Wherever  cholera  appeared,  there  Dr.  Smith  also 
appeared ; and  in  many  a city  in  Asia  Minor,  Armenia 
and  Mesopotamia,  Moslems  and  Christians  learned  to 
bless  the  missionary  who  seemed  miraculously  to 
heal.”  He  won  their  confidence  and  was  considered 
“ the  principal  instrument  in  establishing  and  giving 
character  to  the  Turkey  Mission.” 

One  of  the  most  distinguished  pioneers  of  medical 
missions  was  Dr.  Asahel  Grant,  who  penetrated  hun- 
dreds of  miles  into  the  interior  of  Asiatic  Turkey  and 
Kurdistan  where  he  was  hourly  in  danger  of  death 
by  violence.  His  courage  and  unselfishness  coupled 
with  wonderful  skill  as  an  operator,  especially  upon 
cataract,  won  confidence  on  every  side.  A writer  in 
the  British  Quarterly  has  the  following  to  say  con- 
cerning this  intrepid  man : “ He  was  continually 


H4  MEDICAL  MISSIONS:  THE  TWOFOLD  TASK 


thronged  with  patients,  both  Moslems  and  Christian. 
Children  brought  their  aged  parents,  and  mothers  led 
their  little  ones.  Those  blind  with  opthalmia  were 
led  by  the  hand.  Those  relieved  from  pain  kissed  his 
feet,  or  even  his  shoes  at  the  door.”  “Among  his 
patients,”  adds  Dr.  Thomas  Laurie  in  the  Ely  Volume, 
“ were  Kurdish  chiefs,  Georgian  princes,  Persian 
nobles,  and  members  of  the  royal  family.  In  the  great 
peril  of  his  first  journey  in  Kurdistan  his  fame  as  a 
physician  had  preceded  him,  and  kept  him  in  safety 
where  the  life  of  another  could  not  have  been  assured 
for  an  hour.” 

In  the  year  1838,  Dr.  Robert  Reid  Kalley,  of  the 
Free  Church  of  Scotland,  was  on  his  way  to  China. 
Idis  wife  becoming  seriously  ill,  they  landed  at  Fun- 
chal, on  the  island  of  Madeira,  which  had  never  been 
occupied  by  Protestant  missionaries.  Led  there  by 
Providence,  the  doctor  resolved  upon  opening  work. 
A man  of  means,  he  was  able  to  maintain  such  work 
outside  of  his  practice.  A hospital  was  opened  and 
medical  treatment  given  free,  upon  condition  that  all 
patients  were  to  be  present  at  nine  every  morning, 
when  he  read  the  Scriptures  and  pointed  them  to 
Christ.  Schools  were  established  over  the  island,  the 
doctor  employing  the  teachers  and  furnishing  the 
books.  The  majority  of  the  Portuguese  were  illiterate. 
The  people  flocked  to  these  night  schools.  At  one 
time,  eight  hundred  adults  were  in  attendance.  They 
were  teachable  and  grateful.  He  was  everybody’s 
friend,  for  he  visited  the  prisoners  and  ministered  to 
the  poor.  As  his  reputation  grew,  the  well-to-do 
sought  relief,  and,  “ the  municipal  authorities  tendered 
him  a formal  vote  of  thanks.” 

One  Sabbath  morning,  two  Portuguese,  having  re- 
nounced their  former  faith,  communed  at  the  little 
Scotch  Church.  Persecution  then  broke  loose.  The 


WORKMEN  AND  THEIR  IMPLEMENTS  115 


two  believers  were  ex-communicated,  the  schools  were 
broken  up  and  the  teachers  imprisoned.  In  defiance 
of  the  treaty  granting  religious  liberty,  one  of  his 
nurses  was  dragged  to  prison.  Kalley  was  seized, 
tried,  condemned  and  incarcerated  for  five  months 
under  an  old  law  of  the  Inquisition  which  had  not 
been  enforced  for  more  than  two  hundred  years.  He 
was  finally  released,  but  had  to  flee  for  his  life,  with 
the  loss  of  all  his  personal  effects,  including  his  books, 
which  were  burned. 

He  returned  to  Scotland  for  a time,  but  later  visited 
the  island  of  Malta  and  then  went  to  Brazil.  In  both 
places  he  started  medical  and  evangelistic  work. 

His  persecuted  followers  in  Madeira,  to  the  number 
of  two  hundred  and  eleven,  were  driven  from  their 
homes,  and  assembled  near  the  seashore,  where  they 
prayed  for  the  coming  of  a British  ship  that  might  bear 
them  away.  Their  faith  was  honored.  The  ship  came, 
and  on  August  23d,  1846,  they  sailed  away  to  the 
island  of  Trinidad,  off  the  mouth  of  the  Orinoco  River. 
Others  followed  until  nearly  one  thousand  left  Ma- 
deira. Later  there  was  a migration  of  some  of  them 
from  Trinidad  to  Jacksonville,  Illinois,  where,  to  this 
day,  they  have  a self-supporting  church  and  their  own 
pastor.  Their  devoted  friend  and  spiritual  father 
visited  them  there  on  his  way  to  Brazil  where  he 
opened  work  in  Rio  de  Janeiro.  The  Emperor,  Dom 
Pedro,  being  attracted  by  his  personality  and  medical 
practice,  called  upon  him  in  person.  It  was  discussed 
in  the  privy  council,  and  determined  that  Dr.  Kalley 
should  be  permitted  to  remain  and  continue  his  work. 

Out  of  this  came  a great  central  church  in  the  city 
of  Rio,  another  across  the  bay,  and  a third  in  Per- 
nambuco. One  convert,  who  prospered  greatly  after 
his  acceptance  of  Christ,  gave  $10,000,  to  meet  a like 
sum  from  Dr.  Kalley,  toward  building  the  first  Church. 


ii6  MEDICAL  MISSIONS:  THE  TWOFOLD  TASK 


In  addition,  the  doctor  supported  a number  of  Bible 
readers  and  their  families  out  of  his  private  purse. 
For  years  this  noble  enterprise  went  on  until  it  rooted 
itself  in  the  soil  and  could  be  cultivated  by  other  hands. 
Dr.  Kalley  was  a master  workman,  approved  of  God 
— one  of  the  great  pioneers  of  medical  missions  and 
of  evangelistic  work.  The  American  Presbyterian 
Church,  in  1859,  entered  the  field  which  through  him 
had  been  so  providentially  opened,  and  now  counts  a 
membership  of  14,000  under  a General  Assembly. 
This  is  not  all  Dr.  Kalley’s  work,  but  he  blazed  the 
way.  Who  shall  measure  the  potentiality  of  one  man’s 
devotion  to  Christ?  Who  is  bold  enough  to  question 
the  providence  of  God  in  raising  up  such  a leader, 
through  whose  prayers  and  life  moral  and  spiritual 
forces  have  been  released  for  the  blessing  and  uplift 
of  humanity  on  three  islands  and  two  continents? 

III.  Equipment  of  Master  IV orkmen 
1.  If  you  should  visit  one  of  these  master  workmen 
and  ask  to  be  shown  over  his  “ plant,”  he  would  prob- 
ably take  you  first  into  his  study.  There  you  would 
find  his  medical  books  and  journals,  and  possibly  a 
microscope,  and,  if  dissection  is  not  permitted,  some 
anatomical  models.  On  his  table  there  are  the  best 
dictionary  and  grammar  available  and  a copy  of  the 
Scriptures  in  the  native  language.  The  daily  reading 
of  the  Bible  in  the  vernacular  has  been  recommended 
as  an  excellent  exercise,  and  is  the  best  preparation 
for  personal  work  and  chapel  service.  Then  there  are 
account  books,  ledgers,  case  records  and  the  card  file 
to  be  systematically  used  for  entering  the  names  of 
enquirers,  patients,  diseases,  drugs,  new  medical  terms, 
proverbs  and  a growing  vocabulary.  This  file  will  in 
a few  years  contain  invaluable  information  in  the  most 
available  form  for  the  preparation  of  reports,  articles, 


WORKMEN  AND  THEIR  IMPLEMENTS  n 7 


and  books;  also  names  and  addresses  of  those  who 
are  to  be  followed  up.  Upon  the  walls  of  the  study 
or  office,  there  will  probably  be  found  a few  scrolls 
containing  the  words  of  Christ  and  quotations  from  the 
sages  of  the  country. 

The  true  workman  is  honest  and  thorough  in  all 
that  he  does.  He  holds  that  inferior  work  is  dis- 
honest work.  Less  than  a man’s  best,  in  any  depart- 
ment of  education,  science,  philanthropy  or  medicine, 
is  hardly  short  of  a sin.  Every  man  who  respects 
himself  and  would  transfer  the  integrity  of  his  char- 
acter and  purpose  to  the  material  on  which  he  works 
must  be  true  to  the  highest  and  best  that  is  in  him. 
Failing  in  this,  he  misrepresents  science,  civilization 
and  Christianity  itself,  and  with  that  failure  the  whole 
fabric  he  has  endeavored  to  weave  will  perish.  A man 
must  never  cheapen  his  profession  or  religious  faith. 
While  the  life  of  Dr.  Hepburn  was  given  most  largely 
to  literary  work  because  of  his  qualifications  and  the 
demands  of  that  period,  he  did  not  neglect  his  daily 
clinic.  And  as  for  diligent  and  persistent  effort  con- 
tinued through  nearly  half  a century,  we  can  find  no 
better  description  than  the  following  by  W.  E.  Griffis : 

“ This  tireless  student  rose  every  day  at  five  o’clock 
in  the  morning  and  in  cold  weather  made  his  own  fire. 
He  worked  until  breakfast  time,  which  was  between 
seven  and  eight.  Then  followed  family  worship,  after 
which  he  took  a short  stroll,  then  he  went  into  the  dis- 
pensary, usually  for  an  hour,  but  sometimes  for  three 
or  four  hours.  In  addition  to  the  usually  crowded 
front  room,  there  was  another  back  of  it,  which,  be- 
sides chairs  for  the  patients  who  were  called  in  one 
by  one  for  treatment,  was  well  provided  with  shelves 
for  medicines  and  Chinese  Bibles  and  tracts.  These 
latter,  in  time,  gave  way  to  the  same  blessed  messages 
in  easily  read  Japanese.  Returning  to  his  study,  he 


i iS  MEDICAL  MISSIONS:  THE  TWOFOLD  TASK 


worked  on  his  dictionary,  or  his  reading  in  Japanese 
literature,  and,  in  later  days,  on  his  translation  or  re- 
vision of  the  Bible,  until  dinner  time,  at  one  o’clock. 
In  the  afternoons  he  would  take  his  exercise  and  at- 
tend to  the  innumerable  calls,  medical,  evangelistic, 
social,  or  to  multifarious  public  services.  The  even- 
ing was  usually  spent  in  light  work,  or  in  fulfilling 
social  demands/' 

Many  of  the  great  medical  missionaries,  like  Dr. 
Hepburn,  have  devoted  a generous  amount  of  time 
to  literary  work.  The  creation  of  a literature  and  the 
making  of  books  is  not  primarily  the  work  of  the 
medical  missionary,  but  not  unfrequently  it  has  been 
necessary  to  take  this  up  as  a skilled  mechanic  stops 
to  invent  or  fashion  his  own  tools.  Besides  this,  medi- 
cal missionaries  at  times  have  shown  such  literary 
ability,  or  the  demand  for  certain  kinds  of  literary 
work  has  been  so  great,  that  the  Boards  have  been 
requested  by  the  Missions  to  have  these  doctors  set 
apart  for  this  special  task. 

Dr.  C.  V.  A.  Van  Dyck  was  a graduate  of  Jefferson 
Medical  College,  Philadelphia.  Appointed  to  Syria 
under  the  American  Board,  he  mastered  the  Arabic, 
wrote  books  for  the  schools,  ministered  to  the  wounded 
in  the  wars  of  1840-45,  and  traveled  much  with  Dr.  W. 
M.  Thompson  who  said  that  their  “ station  was  on 
horseback.”  Van  Dyck  was  providentially  prepared 
during  seventeen  years  of  study,  travel,  and  medical 
work  for  his  masterpiece.  “ He  had,  and  mastered,  a 
whole  library  of  Arabic  books,  poetry,  grammar, 
rhetoric,  logic,  history,  geography  and  medicine ; had 
published  Arabic  books  on  algebra,  geometry,  higher 
mathematics,  geography,  logic,  etc.  In  the  colloquial 
Arabic  he  was  without  an  equal.”  Upon  the  basis  of 
the  work  done  by  Dr.  E.  Smith,  his  predecessor,  he 
gave  eight  years  to  the  translation  of  the  Scriptures. 


WORKMEN  AND  THEIR  IMPLEMENTS  119 


In  addition  he  was  professor  in  the  Medical  Depart- 
ment of  the  Syrian  Protestant  College,  where  twelve 
medical  classes  graduated  under  him,  worked  in  the 
St.  John’s  and  the  Greek  Hospitals  and  founded  the 
Astronomical  Observatory. 

Dr.  J.  C.  Thompson,  of  Canton,  has  called  attention 
to  a number  of  books  and  pamphlets  on  medicine  and 
surgery  prepared  in  Chinese  in  the  early  years  of 
medical  missionary  work.  These  begin  with  a treatise 
on  the  art  of  vaccination  by  Dr.  Alexander  Pearson, 
in  1805,  two  years  before  Robert  Morrison  landed. 
In  1841  a letter  was  addressed,  by  Dr.  James  Legge, 
to  Chinese  residents  of  Malacca,  on  the  subject  of 
cholera.  Dr.  B.  Hobson  did  much  valuable  work,  and 
Dr.  J.  G.  Kerr,  with  his  hands  already  full,  prepared 
and  published  twenty-two  volumes,  a number  of  them 
text  books.  One  notable  contribution  was  the  transla- 
tion of  Gray’s  Anatomy,  published  in  1878,  by  Dr. 
D.  W.  Osgood  of  Foochow,  the  anatomical  plates  be- 
ing cut  on  blocks  of  wood. 

“ Dr.  Mary  PI.  Fulton  of  Canton  manages  in  some 
mysterious  way,”  writes  Dr.  Isaac  T.  Headland,  “ to 
spend  five  hours  a day  in  translation  work.  Three 
books  are  in  progress,  two  of  which  will  soon  be  pub- 
lished. She  has  translated:  ‘Remarkable  Answers  to 
Prayer,’  ‘ Diseases  of  Children,’  ‘ Nursing  in  Ab- 
dominal Surgery,’  * Gynecology,’  etc.”  Since  that  was 
written,  Dr.  Fulton  has  been  set  free  from  other  duties 
for  the  work  of  medical  translation.  Drs.  Edkins  and 
Dudgeon  also  made  valuable  contributions  to  this  liter- 
ature, and  Dr.  John  Fryer,  now  professor  of  Chinese 
in  the  University  of  California,  prepared  textbooks 
on  chemistry  and  physics.  Of  Dr.  P.  B.  Cousland 
it  has  been  said  that  “ he  was  the  leading  spirit  in  the 
largest  translation  work  that  has  been  done  in  China 
during  the  last  twenty-five  years,  and  as  President 


120  MEDICAL  MISSIONS:  THE  TWOFOLD  TASK 


of  the  China  Medical  Missionary  Association  and  later 
chairman  of  its  committee  on  translation  he  devoted 
all  his  time  and  splendid  ability  to  this  work,  being 
set  aside  by  his  Board  for  translation  work  alone.” 
In  India  this  line  of  work  has  practically  been  dupli- 
cated in  the  languages  of  that  country,  though  English 
is  far  more  extensively  used,  thus  opening  a much 
wider  field  for  the  study  of  medical  and  scientific 
literature. 

Sir  Harry  Johnston,  who  for  many  years  represented 
the  British  government  in  Africa,  in  emphasizing  the 
huge  debt  that  philologists  owe  to  the  labors  of  mission- 
aries there,  reports  that  nearly  two  hundred  languages 
and  dialects  have  been  reduced  to  writing  and  for  their 
acquirement  vocabularies,  dictionaries  and  grammars 
have  been  prepared.  In  this  achievement  medical  mis- 
sionaries have  shared.  Dr.  Elias  Riggs  of  Turkey, 
mastered  several  languages,  in  order  that  he  might 
be  the  better  able  to  reach  the  people.  Dr.  Sims,  an 
eminent  man  in  his  profession,  who  has  worked  for 
many  years  in  an  unhealthy  section  of  the  Congo,  has 
not  only  acquired  several  African  languages,  but  is 
perfectly  at  home  in  French  and  Italian  as  well. 

The  mastery  of  the  language  with  these  great 
workers  has  been  the  key  to  their  knowledge  of  the 
people,  their  viewpoint,  social  life,  philosophy,  religion, 
superstitions  and  everything,  in  fact,  that  gives  an  in- 
sight into  human  nature,  habits  and  customs,  both 
individual  and  national.  If  a physician  would  seek  the 
deep-seated  and  obscure  causes  of  disease,  especially 
the  roots  of  nervous  troubles,  he  would  often  find 
them  embedded  in  psychic  phenomena,  which  baffle 
ordinary  diagnostic  methods,  and  which  can  be  dis- 
covered only  by  a knowledge  of  the  native  tongue. 
Then  the  medical  missionary  should  so  master  the 
written  language  as  to  familiarize  himself,  as  far  as 


Waiting  Crowd  in  Front  of  Dispensary  in  Kodoli,  India 


WORKMEN  AND  THEIR  IMPLEMENTS  121 

possible,  with  native  books  on  medicine,  history, 
biography,  ethics,  philosophy,  and  folk  lore. 

A veteran  missionary  out  of  his  personal  experience 
writes : “ Were  I a new  missionary,  I would  do  first 
things  first.  I would  soon  find  out  that  the  first  of 
first  things  is  language  study ; that  the  Board  had  not 
sent  me  out  as  a mission’s  cousellor ; that  I should  not 
waste  energy  in  trying  to  correct  all  that  I thought 
wrong  in  missionary  methods;  that  the  greatest  asset 
of  a missionary’s  life  is  the  gift  of  the  Holy  Spirit, 
and  the  second  is  a mastery  of  the  language.”  All 
of  this  effort,  on  the  part  of  the  medical  missionary, 
centers  in  his  study. 

2.  The  dispensary  is  another  necessary  part  of  the 
missionary  doctor’s  equipment.  It  prepares  the  way 
for  the  hospital  by  allaying  suspicion  and  creating 
confidence.  The  master  workman  cannot  meet  the 
demand  without  the  one  or  the  other.  The  dispensary 
is  a means  of  introducing  the  gospel  to  hundreds  of 
villages.  It  is  extensive  in  its  work,  while  the  hospital 
is  intensive.  While  it  lacks  continuity  of  treatment 
and  is  not  the  most  satisfactory  agency,  it  ministers 
to  thousands  who  suffer  and  who  would  otherwise  be 
unreached.  It  attracts  the  common  people  and  brings 
them  into  touch  with  Christian  influences,  so  that  its 
work  is  not  unimportant  and  is  not  to  be  slurred  over. 
It  helps  to  supply  patients  for  the  hospital  wards  and 
attendance  upon  the  chapel  services  during  week  days 
and  on  Sundays.  It  furnishes  a variety  of  clinical 
material  for  the  training  of  assistants  and  nurses  and 
reaches  a class  of  patients  who  have  not  courage  as 
yet  to  enter  a hospital  ward. 

3.  The  chapel,  in  connection  with  both  dispensary 
and  hospital,  is  an  essential  part  of  the  working  equip- 
ment. Here  the  patients  assemble  for  hours  before 
the  clinic  begins.  They  should  be  made  comfortable, 


122  MEDICAL  MISSIONS:  THE  TWOFOLD  TASK 


and,  if  able  to  read,  be  given  simple  and  interesting 
illustrated  literature,  both  to  pass  away  the  time  and 
to  set  them  to  thinking  about  health  and  religion. 
Illuminated  Scripture  texts  upon  the  wall  and  picture 
scrolls,  such  as  are  used  in  the  Sunday  School,  espe- 
cially those  bringing  out  the  ministry  of  Jesus  to  the 
sick  and  poor,  help  to  a better  understanding  and  ap- 
preciation of  Christianity. 

A trained  native  helper  for  the  men  and  a Bible 
woman  for  the  other  sex,  carefully  selected  for  their 
honesty,  sympathy  and  reliability,  can  do  much  to 
point  the  waiting  patients  to  Christ.  The  physician  in 
charge  should  exercise  great  caution  in  the  selection 
of  these  workers.  To  employ  in  this  sacred  relation 
those  who  are  tactless,  dictatorial  or  mercenary  would 
be  injurious  to  the  last  degree  and  a travesty  upon 
the  cause  which  the  missionary  represents. 

Half  an  hour  before  the  clinic  begins,  the  doctor 
may  himself  occupy  the  chapel  platform  and  give  a 
simple,  direct  evangelistic  talk,  not  over  fifteen  min- 
utes, selecting  by  preference  a parable  or  the  story  of 
one  of  the  miracles  of  healing.  The  doctor  does  not 
pose  as  a preacher,  but  he  does  realize  that  he  is  sent 
to  minister.  Like  his  Great  Master  he  yearns  over  the 
sick  and  suffering.  His  heart  is  filled  with  loving  com- 
passion. Men,  women  and  children  have  come  from 
long  distances  to  one  who  they  believe  can  help  them 
in  a time  of  need.  They  do  not  know  Christ,  but  they 
do  know  the  doctor.  He  is  touched  by  the  appeal,  and 
is  thrilled  by  the  opportunity.  Though  he  may  not  be 
eloquent,  his  message  goes  home,  and  many  a patient 
coming  from  some  humble  hut  in  the  country  or  dis- 
tant village  rejoices  in  the  memory  of  the  day  when, 
with  the  relief  to  the  body,  there  came  restoration  of 
soul. 

4.  Without  a hospital  no  substantial  and  permanent 


WORKMEN  AND  THEIR  IMPLEMENTS  123 


work  can  be  done.  It  would  be  better  not  to  begin 
medical  work,  in  most  cases,  if  such  provision  cannot 
ultimately  be  made.  This  does  not  mean  that  there 
should  necessarily  be  a large  and  expensive  plant. 
But,  however  small,  it  should  be  complete  in  every 
essential  detail.  In  fact,  the  missionary  physician  is 
much  better  off  to  begin  with  a hospital  with  a few 
beds  in  a temporary  structure,  or  in  a building  which 
will  be  one  of  several  units  in  the  hospital  which  is  to 
be  established.  The  institution  thus  may  grow  with 
the  experience  of  the  doctor  who  is  then  more  able 
wisely  to  direct  and  administer  the  work  than  if  he 
were  to  be  burdened  at  the  first  with  the  heavy  re- 
sponsibility of  a large  and  poorly  planned  equipment 
and  without  an  adequate  native  staff  to  assist  him. 

The  writer  would  hardly  be  willing  to  repeat  what 
he  did  in  his  early  medical  experience.  A Chinese 
farmer  came  with  an  affection  of  the  throat.  His 
wife  explained  that  for  two  years  she  had  fed  him 
through  a small  bamboo  tube  but  that  now  he  was 
scarcely  able  to  swallow.  There  being  neither  dis- 
pensary nor  hospital  at  the  time,  he  was  operated  on 
in  the  yard,  seated  upon  one  of  our  dining  room  chairs. 
Another  missionary  held  his  head,  and  the  patient  to 
steady  himself  grasped  the  rounds  of  the  chair  on 
each  side  of  him.  The  tumor,  which  was  malignant, 
was,  after  much  difficulty,  removed,  the  operation  be- 
ing followed  by  profuse  hemorrhage.  Cocaine  had 
not  been  discovered,  no  anesthetic  could  be  adminis- 
tered ; but  the  patient  heroically  held  his  seat  and 
went  through  the  operation  without  a groan.  He  sur- 
vived a couple  of  years,  but  it  was  his  vitality  and 
powers  of  endurance  rather  than  skilled  work  that 
helped  to  his  recovery,  even  for  a time.  The  Board 
made  it  possible  a little  later  to  erect  a hospital  for 
forty  beds. 


124  MEDICAL  MISSIONS:  THE  TWOFOLD  TASK 


Dr.  H.  T.  Hodgkin,  in  his  admirable  book  on  medical 
missions,  “ The  Way  of  the  Good  Physician,”  makes 
a strong  point  when  he  states  that  “ the  hospital  be- 
comes a far  more  vital  item  in  the  equipment  of  the 
doctor  abroad  than  at  home.”  One  of  the  reasons 
for  this  is  that  he  encounters  the  most  difficult  cases 
in  medical  and  surgical  practice.  Patients  are  often 
not  brought  to  him  until  they  are  given  up  by  the 
family  and  the  native  doctor.  In  order  to  deal  with 
these  cases,  the  medical  missionary  must  have  an  ade- 
quate equipment  and  a competent  staff.  He  can  keep 
up  the  continuity  of  treatment  in  the  hospital  under 
his  own  eye.  Upon  this  much  of  his  success  depends. 
The  doctor,  moreover,  by  placing  his  patients  in  a hos- 
pital ward  can  ensure  the  three  great  essentials  of 
cleanliness,  sunlight  and  fresh  air  — essentials  not  to 
be  found  in  the  majority  of  homes  in  non-Christian 
lands.  He  has  a chance  to  study  the  case  from  the 
standpoint  of  scientific  diagnosis  and  treatment,  physi- 
cal and  psychic.  The  hospital  gives  him  his  best  and 
only  opportunity  for  the  clinical  training  of  a staff 
of  assistants  and  nurses.  And,  lastly,  in  the  hospital 
he  does  his  best  personal  work  in  leading  the  patients 
to  Christ. 

Not  only  is  an  adequate  building  necessary,  but  a 
sufficient  appropriation  to  meet  the  needs  of  urgent 
cases.  A shortage  in  contributions  at  home  and  a 
cut  in  the  appropriation  compelled  Dr.  Joseph  Cochran 
at  one  time  to  close  a part  of  his  hospital.  Here  is 
the  note  in  his  journal : “ Yesterday  five  Kurds  arrived 
from  the  region  between  Amadia  and  Mosul.  The  long 
and  perilous  journey  has  been  made,  they  have  been 
twenty-five  days  on  the  way  and  have  reached  here 
with  about  two  dollars  in  cash.  Three  of  them  are 
very  seriously  ill.  . . . They  had  heard  that  this 

institution  received  people  of  all  nationalities  and 


WORKMEN  AND  THEIR  IMPLEMENTS  125 


creeds,  and  that  the  poor  could  find  treatment  as  well 
as  the  rich.  It  requires  a very  stony  heart  to  close 
the  doors  to  people  from  such  a distance.”  All  he 
could  do  was  to  find  a place  for  them  among  the  Kurds 
in  a neighboring  villege,  with  the  request  to  take  them 
into  their  mosque,  let  them  beg  for  their  bread  from 
door  to  door,  and  come  to  him  for  medicine  which  he 
would  give  them  free  of  charge. 

We  have  already  remarked  that  the  mission  hospitatl 
is  a powerful  evangelizing  agency,  but  the  fact  cannot 
be  too  sharply  emphasized.  In  a paper  read  by  Dr. 
Duncan  Main  before  the  China  Medical  Missionary 
Association  on  the  best  method  of  presenting  Christian 
truth  to  patients,  he  was  decidedly  of  the  opinion  that 
it  is  in  the  hospital  wards  and  by  personal  dealing  with 
the  patients  at  the  bedside,  that  the  best  opportunity 
offers.  He  was  convinced  that  this  work  should  be 
chiefly  done  by  the  native  evangelists  and  colporteurs 
who  regularly  and  systematically  visit  the  wards  and 
thus  get  in  touch  with  the  patients.  “ The  doctors 
and  their  assistants,  of  course,  drop  a word  in  season 
on  their  daily  rounds.  . . . but  the  actual  teaching, 
as  a rule,  is  done  by  the  evangelists,  who  can  do  it 
much  better  than  we  can.” 

Separate  services  in  his  hospital  are  held  for  men 
and  women,  for  maternity  cases,  for  children,  and  for 
lepers,  conducted  by  different  members  of  the  staff. 
These  services  are  held  every  evening,  except  that  on 
Monday  night  all  assemble  in  the  same  hall  for  a magic 
lantern  exhibition,  and  on  Tuesday  night  for  the 
weekly  prayer  meeting  attended  by  the  members  of 
the  staff  and  all  the  Christians  on  the  compound. 
“ This  meeting,”  he  adds,  “ I always  keep  in  my  own 
hands.  We  vary  it  a good  deal  and  there  is  nothing 
stereotyped.  The  burden  of  this  meeting  is  the  power 
of  godly  living,  and  the  power  of  the  Holy  Ghost. 


u6  MEDICAL  MISSIONS:  THE  TWOFOLD  TASK 


The  meeting  is  short  and  as  interesting  as  we  can 
make  it.” 

This  position  of  Dr.  Main’s,  who  has  demonstrated 
his  ability  as  a surgeon  and  Christian  leader,  coincides 
thoroughly  with  the  attitude  of  Dr.  W.  J.  Wanless, 
of  Miraj,  India,  who  expressed  himself  recently  before 
the  India  Medical  Missionary  Association  in  almost 
identical  terms.  “ The  evangelistic  work  of  mission 
hospitals  should  as  a rule  be  in  charge  of  the  medical 
staff,  all  of  whom  should  take  a definite  and  active  part 
in  the  gospel  work  of  the  institution.”  On  account  of 
the  immense  number  of  villages  within  reach  of  large 
mission  hospitals  in  India  he  makes  the  suggestion  that 
an  ordained  missionary,  in  addition  to  the  medical 
staff,  should  be  available  for  personal  work  in  the 
institution  and  for  “ the  visitation  of  villages  within 
the  district  from  which  patients  have  come,  with  whom 
accjuaintance  and  even  friendships  have  been  estab- 
lished while  in  the  hospital.”  He  makes  the  further 
admirable  suggestion  that  there  should  be  a small  li- 
brary of  carefully  selected  books,  and  a reading  and 
prayer  room,  open  to  any  of  the  patients  who  during 
convalescence  are  able  to  make  use  of  them. 

Not  the  least  important  part  of  evangelistic  work  is 
the  following  up  of  patients  after  they  leave.  It  is  a 
most  fruitful  field,  but  the  lack  of  workers  in  mission 
stations  has,  as  a rule,  prevented  this  from  being  done 
systematically.  Now  that  mission  churches  are  be- 
coming well  organized  and  self-supporting  it  ought  to 
be  possible  to  secure  the  voluntary  services  of  some 
reliable  and  mature  Christians,  men  and  women,  for 
both  are  needed,  to  carry  to  the  homes  the  lessons  of 
truth  received  in  the  hospital.  This  should  be  done  in 
addition  to  a letter  of  introduction  to  the  nearest 
pastor  in  behalf  of  every  patient  interested  in  the 
gospel,  a copy  of  the  letter  with  the  patient’s  address 


Church  General  Hospital,  Wuchang,  China 
Above  — Entrance  to  Woman’s  Hospital 
Below — Woman’s  Tubercular  Ward 


WORKMEN  AND  THEIR  IMPLEMENTS  127 


going  to  the  pastor  himself.  Faithfully  and  system- 
atically carried  out,  this  would  double  the  effectiveness 
of  the  hospital  as  an  evangelistic  agency.  The  sugges- 
tion comes  from  Dr.  Main  and  is  worthy  of  general 
adoption. 

It  is  remarkable  at  what  a comparatively  insignifi- 
cant outlay  medical  missionary  work  is  carried  on. 
The  cost  of  maintaining  the  largest  hospital  at  Canton 
for  an  entire  year  has  been  the  modest  sum  of  $10,000. 
Even  the  amount  mentioned  does  not  come  from 
home ; the  budget  is  provided  for  by  the  Chinese  Medi- 
cal Missionary  Society.  In  this  hospital  and  its  as- 
sociated dispensaries,  nearly  50,000  patients  are  treated 
annually.  While  the  average  cost  of  a bed  in  a hospital 
in  New  York,  Kansas  City,  or  San  Francisco,  is  two 
dollars  a day,  in  Canton  or  Lucknow  it  is  not  more 
than  from  twenty-five  to  thirty-five  dollars  a year,  or 
less  than  ten  cents  a day. 

It  is  the  consensus  of  opinion  among  medical  mis- 
sionaries that,  if  possible,  something  should  be  paid 
by  patients  for  treatment,  even  though  it  be  an  insig- 
nificant amount.  At  the  same  time,  it  is  the  policy  of 
every  mission  hospital  not  to  turn  away  any  one  who 
is  too  poor  to  pay  the  fee.  While  the  total  of  receipts 
from  out-patients  and  from  those  paying  a small  fee 
within  the  wards  may  not  come  to  much,  it  does 
amount  to  a great  deal  in  an  enlarged  appreciation 
of  the  value  of  medical  help,  the  creation  of  self- 
respect,  and  the  building  of  character.  Patients  are 
often  overheard  to  say  that  free  medicine  is  poor 
medicine.  People  appreciate  what  they  pay  for  and 
are  then  more  ready  to  follow  directions.  The  policy 
of  self-support  is  carried  out  in  a number  of  hospitals 
such  as  that  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church, 
South,  at  Soochow,  China,  under  the  administration 
of  Dr.  W.  H.  Park.  In  addition  to  meeting  its  current 


128  MEDICAL  MISSIONS:  THE  TWOFOLD  TASK 


expenses,  it  has  repeatedly  bought  land  for  enlarge- 
ment and  put  up  several  buildings  for  its  staff  and 
departmental  work. 

The  American  Presbyterian  hospital  at  Miraj,  India, 
under  the  administration  of  Dr.  W.  J.  Wanless,  is  an 
illustration,  in  the  extent  of  its  work,  its  growth  in 
self-support,  and  in  the  multiplication  of  its  agencies, 
of  what  can  be  accomplished  under  intelligent  and 
masterful  leadership.  It  has  130  beds,  treats  over 
2,000  in-patients  and  more  than  40,000  out-patients 
annually  and  has  four  branch  dispensaries.  In  twenty- 
four  years,  or  to  the  close  of  1916,  27,000  in-patients 
were  treated,  with  a total  attendance  of  three-quarters 
of  a million  and  over  40,000  operations  performed.  It 
has  been  conducted  on  such  a sound  basis  that  it  has 
been  practically  self-supporting  from  the  beginning. 
During  the  past  six  years,  in  addition  to  current  ex- 
penses, it  has  enlarged  its  plant  to  the  amount  of  $40r 
000  from  funds  raised  on  the  field  — mainly  the  gifts 
of  patients.  The  work  of  three  hospitals  and  seven 
dispensaries  in  the  Western  India  Mission,  are  all  ex- 
tensions of  the  Miraj  work  and  cost  the  home  Church, 
exclusive  of  missionaries’  salaries,  less  than  $4,000 
annually.  A physician  and  a nurse,  both  Americans, 
are  supported  by  the  hospital. 

In  an  article  by  Saint  Nihal  Singh,  the  Indian  writer, 
he  states  that  “ within  a radius  of  250  miles  of  Miraj, 
there  are  numerous  hospitals  maintained  by  the  gov- 
ernment, most  of  them  under  the  charge  of  British 
physicians;  yet  so  famous  is  this  missionary  doctor, 
that  during  a recent  year  he  performed  twice  as  many 
as  the  total  operations  performed  in  all  other  hospitals 
within  this  area.”  It  becomes  a matter  of  both  aston- 
ishment and  of  admiration  when  we  sum  up  in  figures 
alone  the  personal  service  rendered  by  this  one  medical 
missionary  in  twenty-eight  years.  During  that  period 


WORKMEN  AND  THEIR  IMPLEMENTS  129 


Dr.  Wanless  has  performed  more  than  25,000  surgical 
operations,  of  which  over  6,000  were  for  cataract,  900 
for  stone  in  the  bladder,  and  1,800  abdominal  opera- 
tions, including  400  on  the  stomach,  the  largest  number 
of  any  one  operator  in  India  for  gastric  disorders.  We 
are  not  surprised  to  learn  that  “ his  name  has  come 
to  be  almost  worshipped  in  Hindu  and  Moslem 
homes.” 

The  mission  hospital  in  the  hands  of  these  master 
workmen  has  been  a leveler  of  caste,  a builder  of 
brotherhood,  an  illustration  of  Christianity  in  the  con- 
crete, a distributing  center  of  good  influences,  a haven 
of  rest  for  helpless  humanity  and  not  infrequently  a 
bulwark  of  safety  to  the  missionary  or  the  foreign  com- 
munity in  the  midst  of  which  it  is  located.  It  was 
said  of  Dr.  Kerr’s  hospital  in  Canton,  that  in  protection 
to  the  community  it  was  more  powerful  than  a gun- 
boat. 

There  is  a consensus  of  opinion  among  experienced 
medical  missionaries  that  certain  things  are  essential 
to  the  efficiency  of  every  mission  hospital : 

1.  Two  doctors  and  a staff  of  assistants. 

2.  A woman  missionary  superintendent  who  can 

train  nurses. 

3.  Buildings  adapted  in  structure  to  ample  light  and 

ventilation  and  in  material  to  cleanliness. 

4.  An  adequate  up-to-date  equipment. 

5.  Sufficient  current  expense  funds. 

6.  High  Christian  ideals  and  policy  for  the  home 

Board  and  the  hospital  staff. 

7.  On  the  part  of  the  physician  in  charge,  a scientific 

attitude  that  is  alive  to  the  latest  and  best  things 
in  medicine  and  a spirit  of  tactful,  Christlike 
leadership  over  those  associated  with  him  in  the 
work  of  his  hospital. 

We  could  not  better  close  this  chapter  than  with  a 


130  MEDICAL  MISSIONS:  THE  TWOFOLD  TASK 


brief  notice  of  yet  another  master  workman,  a 
vigorous,  masculine,  red-blooded  missionary,  Dr.  Theo- 
dore L.  Pennell,  who  lived,  planned  and  wrought  on 
the  Afghan  frontier  of  India.  He  built  up  a medical 
practice  that  extended  along  the  mountain  trails,  into 
the  camps  of  wild  tribes,  among  soldiers,  and  in  not 
a few  frontier  towns,  where  surgical  operations  had 
to  be  performed  in  the  midst  of  border  forays  or  as 
a result  of  bloody  feuds.  He  established  a hospital, 
founded  a boys’  school,  ran  a mission  press,  preached 
constantly  in  the  bazaars,  where  he  was  several  times 
beaten  and  stoned,  and  yet  found  time  somehow  to 
learn  Urdu  and  Pushtu  thoroughly,  and  to  acquire  a 
fair  working  knowledge  of  Arabic,  Persian  and  Pun- 
jabi. His  medical  activity  was  equalled  by  his  interest 
in  athletic  sports,  through  which  he  got  a masterful 
control  over  the  Afghan  boys.  Cataract  being  his 
speciality,  he  not  unfrequently  performed  a dozen 
operations  during  a single  day  while  on  the  road,  a 
native  assistant  being  left  behind  in  each  village  to 
care  for  the  patients  while  he  pushed  on.  “ Each  tour 
was  an  adventure  from  beginning  to  end  — all  kinds 
of  dangers  from  desert  sands,  swollen  rivers,  mountain 
trails,  warlike  chiefs,  fanatical  Moors  and  lurking 
diseases.”  It  was  indeed  a marvel  that  he  should  have 
been  able  to  maintain  himself  at  such  a pace,  but  he  did 
more  than  that.  We  could  not  more  accurately  sum  up 
the  character  and  achievements  of  medical  missionaries 
than  by  quoting  from  the  introduction  to  Pennell’s 
life,  written  by  none  other  than  Field-Marshal  Earl 
Roberts  himself.  When  so  high  an  authority  on  In- 
dian affairs  — military,  civil  and  missionary  — gives 
his  deliberate  opinion,  it  is  well  worth  recording. 

“ Dr.  Pennell  was  a man  of  striking  appearance,  of 
commanding  personality,  and  of  prepossessing  man- 
ner. Pie  was  quite  fearless  (he  never  carried  a weapon 


WORKMEN  AND  THEIR  IMPLEMENTS  131 


of  any  kind),  and  he  was  patient  and  determined. 
His  aim  was  to  get  to  understand  the  people  and  to  be 
trusted  by  them ; and  in  this  endeavor,  living  amongst 
them  and  mixing  freely  and  fearlessly  with  them,  and 
by  the  example  of  his  frugal,  self-denying  life,  he 
achieved  a remarkable  measure  of  success.  ...  In 
one  year  in  the  Bannu  hospital  alone,  34,000  individual 
cases  were  dealt  with,  and  1,655  of  these  were  ad- 
mitted to  the  wards.  Eighty-six  thousand  out-patients 
were  visited,  and  nearly  three  thousand  operations 
were  performed.  This  enormous  amount  of  work  was 
carried  out  by  only  four  qualified  medical  men,  two 
British  and  two  Indian,  and  one  qualified  medical 
woman.  These  figures  will  give  some  idea  of  the 
magnitude  and  importance  of  the  work,  for  the  organ- 
ization and  execution  of  which  Dr.  Pennell  was  mainly 
responsible.” 

In  commenting  upon  the  life  of  this  eminent  phy- 
sician, who  without  seeking  it,  had  won  for  himself 
such  distinction  in  the  Public  Service  in  India,  and 
through  his  compassionate  ministry  such  a large  place 
in  the  hearts  of  the  wild  Afghans  upon  the  Border, 
Earl  Roberts  deems  it  impossible  for  any  one  to  read 
the  pages  of  the  book1  “ without  being  convinced  that 
medical  missions  are  a great  power  for  good  in  the 
land  and,  as  to  their  spiritual  influence,  I can  only 
say  from  personal  knowledge  of  their  work,  that  I 
heartily  agree  with  the  Bishop  of  Lahore  who,  after 
a visit  of  inspection  to  Bannu,  testified  to  their  being 
‘ of  immense  service  in  breaking  down  opposition,  soft- 
ening hearts,  making  clear  to  the  rough,  untamed 
people  of  these  parts  the  real  meaning  and  bearing 
of  the  gospel  message  and  so  preparing  the  way  for 
its  reception.’  ” 

1,4  Pennell  of  the  Afghan  Frontier,”  by  Alice  M.  Pennell. 


132  MEDICAL  MISSIONS:  THE  TWOFOLD  TASK 


True  greatness  is  measured  by  integrity  of  charac- 
ter, loftiness  of  ideals,  heroism  of  spirit,  and  the 
reach  of  influence  as  it  affects  the  individual,  the  com- 
munity, the  nation,  the  civilization  itself.  From  this 
standpoint  the  master  workmen  whom  we  have  had 
under  discussion  have  made  and  are  making  a wonder- 
ful contribution  to  the  world’s  good.  What  college 
man  or  woman  desiring  a highly  productive  career  for 
God’s  glory  and  humanity’s  gain  would  not  rejoice  to 
be  listed  among  such  master  workmen  as  these?  The 
roster  is  still  in  the  making. 


WOMAN’S  WORK  FOR  WOMAN 


“ There  is  nothing  in  the  universe  that  I fear  but  that  I 
shall  not  know  all  my  duty,  or  shall  fail  to  do  it.” 

Mary  Lyon. 

“ Oh,  how  could  I serve  in  the  wards  if  the  hope  of  the  world 
were  a lie? 

How  could  I bear  with  the  sights  and  the  loathsome  smells  of 
disease, 

But  that  He  said,  “Ye  do  it  to  me  when  ye  do  it  to  these.” 

Tennyson. 


VI. 

WOMAN’S  WORK  FOR  WOMAN 


During  a visit  to  the  sacred  island  of  Pu-du,  off  the 
China  coast,  we  passed  a poor  woman  seeking  a double 
cure,  that  of  a diseased  body  and  a sin-smitten  soul. 
She  was  measuring  her  length  along  the  stone  pave- 
ment from  the  landing  to  the  most  distant  temple, 
three  miles  and  a half  away.  Seven  miles  in  all,  under 
a blistering  sun,  before  she  could  return  to  the  boat 
which  brought  her,  and  more  than  ten  days  consumed 
under  the  self-inflicted  penance  and  for  the  acquire- 
ment of  the  merit  which  would  make  her  whole.  Alas, 
for  the  simple-minded  victim  of  a venal  priesthood  and 
a religion  of  false  promises.  And  that  poor  creature 
was  the  personification  of  half  the  womanhood  of  the 
world  groping  blindly  for  health  and  salvation. 

A Door  of  Hope  swung  wide  open ! A Christly 
mission  of  mercy  to  suffering  women  and  children ! 
How  better  may  one  characterize  the  entrance  of 
women  medical  missionaries  and  nurses  into  the  world 
field  of  missions?  Hope  had  been  long  deferred,  and 
“ hope  deferred  maketh  the  heart  sick.”  Neglected 
womanhood,  sitting  in  the  valley  of  the  shadow  of 
death,  might  have  said,  “ I water  my  couch  with  my 
tears  all  the  night.”  True,  but  “ joy  cometh  in  the 
morning,”  with  the  coming  of  Christ’s  Gospel  of  life 
and  good  cheer.  The  morning  light  is  beginning  to 
break  upon  the  darkened  womanhood  and  childhood 
of  the  non-Christian  world.  And  some  of  the  brightest 
gleams  of  the  dawn  are  rising  out  of  the  work  of 
Christian  women  doctors  and  nurses  for  their  suffering 
sisters  of  other  races. 


i35 


136  MEDICAL  MISSIONS:  THE  TWOFOLD  TASK 


I.  The  Introduction  of  Women’s  Medical  Mission 
Work 

It  was  a romantic  incident  which  made  it  possible  to 
open  medical  work  for  women  in  India.  The  Ma- 
harani,  or  wife  of  a native  prince,  was  nursed  by  Miss 
Beilly.  Upon  recovering,  the  princess  dismissed  her 
attendants  and  addressed  her  friend  as  follows:  “ You 
are  going  to  London,  and  I want  you  to  tell  our  Queen 
and  the  Prince  and  Princess  of  Wales  what  the  women 
in  the  zenanas  of  India  suffer  when  they  are  sick. 
Will  you  promise  me?”  Taking  a locket  she  placed 
within  it  a slip  of  paper,  upon  which  Miss  Beilly  had 
written  the  message,  and  asked  her  to  present  it  to 
Queen  Victoria.  A prayer  was  offered  by  her  friend 
and  nurse  that  the  appeal  might  in  some  way  reach 
the  Throne.  The  Queen  heard  of  the  incident,  gave 
the  messenger  an  audience,  and  authorized  the  begin- 
ning of  a work  which  later  on  led  to  the  establishment 
by  Lady  Dufferin,  wife  of  the  Viceroy  of  India,  of 
the  Dufferin  system  of  hospitals. 

Dr.  Clara  A.  Swain,  of  the  Women’s  Medical  Col- 
lege, Philadelphia,  enjoys  the  distinction  of  being  the 
pioneer  of  woman’s  medical  missionary  work  in  India, 
and  “ the  first  accredited  woman  physician  ever  sent 
out  by  any  missionary  society.”  She  went  out  in  1869, 
in  company  with  Miss  Isabella  Thoburn,  under  the 
auspices  of  the  Woman’s  Missionary  Society  of  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  North.  Stationed  at 
Bareilly,  she  began  training  a class  of  young  Indian 
women  nurses  who  graduated  in  1873,  the  forerunners 
of  what  will  one  day  prove  to  be  a great  host.  In 
direct  answer  to  earnest  prayer,  which  inspired  the 
beginnings  of  all  this  work,  the  Nawab  of  Rampore 
gave  an  estate  of  forty  acres  adjoining  the  mission 
premises,  and  valued  at  $50,000,  for  the  establishment 
of  the  first  hospital  for  women  in  India.  The  Rajah 


WOMAN’S  WORK  FOR  WOMAN 


137 


wrote  in  the  Blue  Book  that  this  gift,  invested  for 
suffering  women,  gave  him  more  satisfaction  than  any- 
thing else  he  had  ever  done. 

To  the  women  of  the  Chinese  Empire,  in  1872,  came 
their  first  medical  missionary  in  the  person  of  Dr. 
Lucinda  L.  Combs,  of  Philadelphia,  also  sent  out 
under  the  Methodist  Society.  She  was  succeeded  in 
1877  by  Dr.  Leonore  Howard,  afterwards  Mrs.  King, 
who  was  instrumental,  with  Dr.  Kenneth  Mackenzie, 
in  the  recovery  of  Lady  Li,  wife  of  the  great  Viceroy, 
Li  Hung  Chang.  The  cure  having  arrested  the  atten- 
tion of  the  most  powerful  official  in  the  empire  and  won 
his  gratitude,  stirred  officialdom,  and  gave  medical 
missions  a prestige  it  had  never  known.  The  yamen 
was  thrown  open  and  thousands  of  women  and  chil- 
dren flocked  to  the  doctor  with  the  “ wonder-working 
hand.”  The  mother  of  the  Viceroy  was  also  treated, 
and  made  a gift  of  one  thousand  dollars  for  Christian 
benevolence.  A Buddhist  temple  was  placed  at  the 
disposal  of  the  doctor  for  dispensing  medicine.  The 
Viceroy’s  mother  would  not  let  Dr.  Howard  out  of 
her  sight.  She  desired  her  to  live  on  the  premises, 
heaped  costly  presents  upon  her,  had  the  doctor  treat 
her  numerous  retinue  of  attendants  and  put  her  in 
medical  charge  of  her  regiment  of  seventy  cats. 

Dr.  Fanny  J.  Butler,  was  the  first  woman  medical 
missionary  from  Great  Britain  to  India.  She  went  out 
in  1880,  after  an  examination  in  Kings  and  Queens 
College  of  Physicians,  Dublin,  of  such  excellence  that 
she  was  informed  by  a member  of  the  faculty  that  her 
paper  was  the  best  he  had  ever  had  from  any  candi- 
date. Mrs.  Isabella  Bird  Bishop  was  inspired  by  her 
work  on  the  field  to  build  a hospital.  She  afterwards 
wrote : “ It  was  a terrible  sight  to  see  the  way  in 
which  the  women  pressed  upon  her  at  the  dispensary 
door,  which  was  kept  by  two  men  outside  and  another 


138  MEDICAL  MISSIONS:  THE  TWOFOLD  TASK 


inside.  The  crush  was  so  great  as  sometimes  to  over- 
power the  men  and  precipitate  the  women  bodily  into 
the  consulting  room.”  The  strain  upon  health  and 
nerves  was  too  great  and  in  nine  years  after  she  began 
her  noble  work,  the  tender  hearted  doctor  succumbed. 
Her  helpers  begged  the  privilege  of  bearing  her  body 
to  the  grave,  saying,  “ We  have  eaten  her  salt,  and  no 
other  arms  must  bear  her.” 

It  does  not  require  a second  reading  of  the  story 
of  the  life  and  ministry  of  Jesus  Christ  to  realize  the 
drain  upon  his  sympathy  and  nerve  force.  It  was 
constant  and  exhausting.  The  throngs  pressed  upon 
Him  from  morning  until  night,  laying  their  sick  at 
His  feet.  Often  He  had  not  so  much  as  leisure  to  eat. 
The  burden  of  afflicted  and  distressed  humanity  was 
upon  His  heart  and  shoulders.  “ Himself  took  our  in- 
firmities and  bore  our  sicknesses.”  Dr.  Butler  minister- 
ing to  the  women  of  India  followed  the  example  of  the 
first  Medical  Missionary  and  entered  into  the  fellow- 
ship of  His  suffering  and  theirs. 

Many  other  women  medical  missionaries  have 
pressed  out  into  the  needy  fields  and  have  added  new 
luster  to  the  records  of  their  predecessors.  Among 
them  are  Dr.  Mary  W.  Niles  and  Dr.  Mary  H.  Fulton 
of  the  Woman’s  Hospital  at  Canton,  an  institution 
which  not  only  is  self-supporting,  but  in  which  students 
and  faculty  are  all  earnest  Christians.  In  1890  Dr. 
Niles  opened  the  first  school  for  blind  girls,  seventy 
of  them  having  been  turned  over  to  her  by  the  Chinese 
authorities.  By  her  skill  she  had  been  the  means  of 
saving  the  life  of  one  of  the  wives  of  the  Viceroy  of 
Canton  province.  To  show  his  appreciation  he  placed 
at  her  disposal  a large  sum  of  money  with  which  to 
begin  the  school.  It  is  one  of  many  proofs  that  the 
Chinese  are  capable  of  the  most  generous  impulses, 
as  well  as  of  sincere  gratitude. 


WOMAN’S  WORK  FOR  WOMAN 


139 


Another  out  of  many  illustrious  medical  women 
who  might  be  mentioned  as  following  in  the  path  of 
great  pioneers  like  Doctors  Swain  and  Combs  was  Dr. 
Elizabeth  Reifsnyder,  of  the  Women’s  Union  Medical 
Society  of  Philadelphia.  She  was  perhaps  the  first 
woman  in  Central  China  to  operate  upon  an  ovarian 
tumor.  It  weighed  fifty  pounds,  over  half  as  much 
as  the  patient.  The  following  day,  the  Chinese  paper 
in  Shanghai  appeared  with  a long  editorial  in  praise  of 
the  surgeon  and  her  skill.  Accompanying  it  was  a 
picture,  drawn  from ' the  imagination  of  the  native 
artist,  which  represented  the  patient  as  lying  in  state 
upon  a high  and  beautifully  canopied  bedstead.  The 
doctor  stood  by  the  bedside  with  one  foot  resting  upon 
a high  stool,  and  in  her  right  hand  a sword  which  she 
was  waving  aloft  and  with  which,  at  one  fell  swoop,  she 
was  to  remove  the  tumor.  It  was  some  distance  from 
the  actual  facts,  but  the  mind  of  the  average  native  was 
tremendously  impressed,  especially  as  the  patient  made 
a good  recovery. 

II.  The  Claims  of  Medical  Missionary  Work  for 
Women 

A work  of  this  kind  presents  very  commanding 
claims.  We  mention  three  of  these. 

1.  Because  of  the  nature  of  the  task.  It  comes 
straight  from  God  and  is  worthy  of  all  one’s  powers. 
Going  to  such  a task,  therefore,  the  doctor  or  the  nurse 
may  confidently  expect  the  power  of  God.  He  has 
promised  it,  and  He  is  faithful.  It  keeps  the  sense 
of  vocation  alive,  for  it  is  God’s  call.  That  sense  may 
die  out  at  home  from  the  insidious  influences  of  per- 
sonal amhition,  professionalism,  and  the  commercial 
spirit.  On  the  field  it  deepens,  grows,  and  becomes 
the  very  soul  of  missions.  The  task  which  bids  one 
seek  the  place  where  suffering  is  greatest  and  in  which 


140  MEDICAL  MISSIONS:  THE  TWOFOLD  TASK 


the  power  to  relieve  grows  into  the  obligation  to  serve, 
appeals  to  the  heroic  and  satisfies  the  noblest  aspira- 
tions. It  impels  the  missionary  doctor  to  tread  in  the 
footsteps  of  the  Great  Healer,  and  in  doing  so  touches 
the  springs  of  mercy,  inspires  the  grace  of  confident 
patience,  leads  to  masterfulness  of  faith  and  deepens 
that  prayer  life  which  brings  an  increasing  sense  of 
the  presence  of  God. 

2.  Because  of  the  depth  of  the  need.  The  need  is 
as  deep  and  as  acute  as  the  sufferings  of  neglected 
humanity  can  very  well  be.  Mrs.  Isabella  Bird  Bishop, 
the  world  traveler,  began  her  journeys  indifferent  to, 
and  almost  sceptical  of,  the  utility  and  power  of  for- 
eign missions.  Dr.  Arthur  Smith,  in  “ Rex  Christus,” 
remarks  that  by  being  an  eye  witness  of  the  ministries 
and  results  of  the  medical  missions  she  became  “ an 
ardent  believer  in  their  saving  power,  and  was  led  to 
build  five  hospitals  and  an  orphanage  in  the  East.” 
How  could  she  do  otherwise  when  she  had  the  oppor- 
tunity to  see  and  the  ability  to  give  ? While  in  China, 
the  more  she  frequented  daily  clinics  in  hospital  and 
dispensary,  the  more  profound  was  her  admiration 
for  the  physician  who  left  home  and  friends  for 
Christ’s  sake.  “ To  her  comes  the  little  slave  girl  al- 
most murdered,  the  childless  wife  whose  husband  is 
about  to  discard  her,  the  thirteen-year-old  daughter-in- 
law  whose  mother-in-law  has  beaten  her  eye  out,  and 
the  child  with  poor  little  crushed  feet,  inflamed  and 
suppurating  with  decaying  bones,  appealing  to  her 
from  the  cruel  bandages.” 

In  India  women  suffer,  if  anything,  even  more  than 
in  China.  A large  proportion  of  them  live  a confined 
life  by  being  kept  in  strict  seclusion  in  zenana  or  harem. 
The  Hindu  is  convinced  that  woman  has  been  created 
inferior  in  nature  to  man.  He  believes  “ in  the  sanctity 
of  the  cow  and  in  the  depravity  of  woman.”  She  is. 


WOMAN’S  WORK  FOR  WOMAN  141 

according  to  his  creed,  made  for  man’s  sole  proprietor- 
ship and  enjoyment.  In  infancy  she  is  neglected,  if  not 
denied  the  right  to  live;  in  girlhood  betrothed  and  mar- 
ried without  her  will,  or  sold  into  a life  of  shame.  If 
fortunate  enough  to  bear  children,  she  not  only  suffers 
the  pangs  of  nature,  but  endures  what  is  worse  at  the 
hands  of  the  ignorant  and  meddlesome  midwife.  If 
widowed  and  childless  she  becomes  a subject  of  con- 
tempt and  scorn,  and  throughout  life  is  made  a drudge. 
If  she  falls  ill,  “ prejudices  and  custom  banish  medical 
aid  altogether.  Woman  is  taught  that  she  is  unworthy 
of  confidence  and  a slave  of  passion,  a great  whirlpool 
of  suspicion,  a dwelling  place  of  vices,  full  of  deceits, 
a hindrance  in  the  way  of  heaven,  the  very  gate  of 
hell.” 

The  above  description  is,  of  course,  not  universally 
true  for  many  a Hindu  wife  is  devotedly  loved  by  her 
husband  ; but,  alas,  it  is  prevailingly  true. 

It  was  in  India  that  I was  brought  to  a sudden  real- 
ization of  the  ignoble  place  accorded  to  woman  in  non- 
Christian  lands.  Our  train  had  come  to  a standstill 
at  a wayside  station.  A tap  at  my  window  by  the 
British  guard  aroused  me  from  sleep.  In  low  but 
excited  tones  he  explained  that  a passenger  was  ill 
and  needed  the  assistance  of  a physician.  Dressing 
hastily,  I followed  him  to  the  woman’s  car  and  found 
a half  dozen  native  women  in  the  far  end  gesticulating 
wildly.  Upon  my  left,  stretched  upon  a hard  bench, 
was  a mere  child  who  had  just  become  a mother,  while 
beside  her,  weeping  hysterically,  was  her  mother,  who 
seemed  utterly  helpless. 

The  nearest  hospital  was  thirty  miles  away.  Advis- 
ing the  guard  to  telegraph  for  help  and  to  push  on, 
I turned  my  attention  to  the  young  mother  and  her 
baby.  Upon  reaching  our  destination  a stretcher  had 
been  brought,  but  when  the  bearers  discovered  the  sex 


142  MEDICAL  MISSIONS:  THE  TWOFOLD  TASK 


of  the  patient,  and  that  she  was  of  a different  caste, 
they  absolutely  refused  to  touch  her.  In  vain  I ap- 
pealed to  them  through  my  servant  and  interpreter. 
They  were  men  and  she  was  a woman,  they  were  high 
caste  and  she  was  low.  The  appeal  fell  dead  at  the 
feet  of  those  tall  swarthy  turbaned  fellows.  I turned 
to  my  interpreter.  “You  are  a Mohammedan.  You 
surely  will  help  me  carry  this  woman  to  the  platform.” 
He  drew  himself  up  with  great  dignity  and  an  unmis- 
takable look  of  scorn  and  retorted,  “True,  I am  a 
Mohammedan,  but  if  I touched  her  I would  be  unclean 
for  a month ! ” He  was  forthwith  ordered  out  of  the 
car.  The  guard  approached.  I appealed  to  him  as  an 
Englishman  and  a Christian.  No  argument  was 
needed.  Cheerfully  he  slipped  his  strong  arms  under 
the  patient  and  helped  to  bear  her  to  the  cot.  As  the 
locomotive  whistled,  the  mother  of  the  child-wife 
threw  herself  upon  her  knees  and  tried  to  articulate 
her  thanks.  We  shot  out  into  the  night  once  more,  and 
I realized  the  failure  of  a man-made  religion,  and 
caught  a new  vision  of  the  beauty  of  Christianity 
which  teaches  the  mission  of  the  strong  to  the  weak, 
makes  sacred  the  very  name  of  wife  and  mother,  and 
ennobles  womanhood  the  world  over. 

The  need  in  Latin  America,  too,  is  very  great.  Far 
away  in  the  mountains  of  Mexico  southeast  of  the 
section  occupied  by  the  fierce  Yaquis,  there  lies  a 
beautiful  valley — the  home  of  the  Terascan  Indians. 
We  enter  it  on  horseback,  Dr.  G.  B.  Winton  and  my- 
self, after  several  days  by  rail,  canoe  and  in  the 
saddle.  Finding  that  one  of  the  two  visitors  is  a 
doctor,  the  mothers  gather  about  him  with  their  chil- 
dren. In  all  the  years  of  their  lives  no  physician  has 
come  into  their  midst.  Patiently  and  mutely  they  have 
endured  their  suffering  and  carried  their  grief.  From 
morning  until  night  they  throng  the  enclosure.  Their 


WOMAN’S  WORK  FOR  WOMAN 


143 


gratitude  is  touching  as  they  press  upon  us  the  little 
silver  trinkets  they  have  fashioned  with  rude  tools  out 
of  native  ore.  Their  appeal  to  return  quickly  takes  the 
heart  out  of  us.  Are  they  not  ready,  waiting  and  eager 
for  the  message?  One  medical  missionary  with  the 
gospel  story  would  be  the  key  to  that  fair  valley.  Ten 
years  have  come  and  gone,  and  still  those  Terascan 
Indians  wait.  And  many  another  section  of  the 
southern  republics  is  waiting  too. 

Up  and  down  the  vast  dark  stretches  of  Africa  the 
women  and  children  are  waiting.  For  all  the  pain  and 
sickness  of  the  dark  continent,  the  men  doctors  are 
pitifully  few,  and  the  women  doctors  a mere  handful. 
Often  missionaries  with  little  or  no  medical  training 
are  compelled  to  respond  to  an  emergency  call  for  a 
doctor,  for  in  Africa  the  unexpected  always  happens. 
No  field  requires  more  initiative,  courage  and  common 
sense.  There  was  a quiet  little  woman  of  sixty,  who 
had  spent  thirty  years  of  missionary  sendee  in  the  Bel- 
gian Congo.  While  travelling  with  her  and  her  husband, 
the  writer  stumbled  upon  the  following  incident  in  her 
life.  An  elephant  hunter  had  swung  himself  into  a 
tree  to  get  a shot.  His  gun  exploded,  tearing  off  his 
hand.  Mud  and  leaves  were  plastered  on  the  mutilated 
wrist  by  his  comrades,  but  within  a week  they  brought 
him  to  the  station  more  dead  than  alive.  Our  heroine 
was  not  even  a trained  nurse.  She  had  some  experi- 
ence, however,  in  caring  for  the  sick,  and  was  blessed 
with  an  abundance  of  grit  and  sense.  She  stripped 
off  the  wrappings  and  found  the  forearm  in  a state  of 
gangrene.  Her  husband  was  informed  that  the  arm 
would  have  to  be  amputated.  He  replied  in  dismay 
that  he  was  no  surgeon.  She  insisted  that  they  must 
jointly  perform  the  operation,  brought  the  carving 
knife  and  wood  saw,  showed  him  where  to  cut  the 
tissues  and  how  to  make  a flap.  She  tied  the  arteries, 


144  MEDICAL  MISSIONS:  THE  TWOFOLD  TASK 


sprinkled  the  wound  with  iodoform  and  dressed  it. 
The  man  recovered  and  still  hunts  elephants.  She  had 
the  stuff  for  a medical  missionary — initiative,  courage 
and  self-reliance.  Such  material  is  abundant,  but 
awaits  discovery.  Add  to  these  efficiency  in  service 
which  comes  from  training,  and  a sense  of  the  urgency 
of  a God-given  task,  and  many  a modest  woman  will 
be  inspired  to  great  deeds  and  a life  of  heroic  service. 
Woman  has  the  capacity.  What  she  needs  is  a realiza- 
tion of  duty,  thorough  training  and  a field. 

Miserable,  beyond  the  power  of  language  to  describe 
it,  is  the  physical  condition  of  womanhood  in  Persia, 
Egypt,  Syria,  Arabia  and  the  other  Mohammedan 
lands  of  the  world.  Neglected,  degraded,  limited, 
woman  moves  about  in  her  little  circle  under  the 
tyranny  of  Islam  and  none  can  tell  the  horrors  of  what 
she  suffers  from  child-marriage,  polygamy  and  un- 
limited divorce.  Disease  among  them  is  plenteous,  but 
the  laborers  are  few. 

So  we  might  go  from  field  to  field  through  the 
mission  world  and  always  it  would  be  the  same  sad 
story  of  desperate  need.  Nor  would  we  find  any  native 
sources  of  relief  that  can  greatly  mitigate  the  distress. 
All  that  was  said  in  an  earlier  chapter  about  the  suffer- 
ings resulting  from  native  malpractice,  quackery, 
witchcraft,  and  superstition  in  reference  to  men  ap- 
plies with  double  force  to  women  and  little  children. 
Two  illustrations  may  be  given  of  these  crude  theories 
and  cruel  practices,  both  of  them  relating  to  psycho- 
pathic troubles. 

Dr.  Christie  tells  of  a sad  case  in  his  experience  in 
Manchuria  where  “ madness,  epilepsy,  and  extreme 
hysteria  are  usually  regarded  as  being  caused  by  devil 
possession.  Without  any  inquiry  into  the  origin  of 
the  condition,  most  cruel  methods  are  resorted  to  in 
order  to  drive  out  the  evil  spirit,  such  as  forcing  the 


Maternity  Ward  of  the  McLeod  Hospital,  Inuvil,  Ceylon 


WOMAN’S  WORK  FOR  WOMAN 


145 


patient  to  stand  on  red  hot  iron,  and  there  is  always 
a severe  and  merciless  beating.  A girl  of  seventeen 
was  brought  to  me,  evidently  a case  of  extreme  hys- 
teria. The  witch  doctors,  after  trying  several  cruel 
methods  without  success,  had  finally  thrust  a red  hot 
poker  down  her  throat  to  expel  the  demon.  The  girl 
died  shortly  afterwards.”1 

The  other  illustration  is  also  from  China.  During  a 
journey  along  the  Great  Wall,  as  it  stretches  its  length 
between  China  and  Mongolia,  I met  two  young  men, 
gun  in  hand,  hunting  a fox.  They  were  deeply  intent 
upon  the  chase,  and  wore  an  air  of  grave  anxiety. 
Questions  led  to  the  explanation.  Their  mother  had 
suddenly  lost  her  mind.  Discovering  this  upon  their 
return  from  the  field,  they  had  reached  the  conclusion 
that  she  had  been  bewitched.  She  claimed  that  she 
had  seen  a fox  upon  the  window  sill.  He  must  have 
been  there  because  a bowl  of  water  standing  in  the 
window  had  been  overturned.  With  a single  glance 
he  had  woven  a spell  over  her  spirit.  She  could  not 
think  clearly,  nor  go  about  her  daily  duties.  Her  sons 
consulted  a soothsayer.  He  advised  them  to  catch  the 
particular  fox,  search  for  a red  hair  in  the  middle  of 
his  forehead,  pull  it  out,  turn  him  loose  and  the  mother 
would  recover.  We  endeavored  to  dispel  their  fears, 
but  without  avail.  They  shouldered  their  guns  and 
resumed  the  search. 

As  accentuating  the  need  of  woman  doctors  through- 
out the  mission  world,  it  should  be  borne  in  mind  that 
in  many  non-Christian  lands  such  as  China,  India  and 
Mohammedan  countries,  men  physicians  have  no  ac- 
cess whatever  to  the  bedside  of  the  majority  of  women 
sufferers. 

The  women  who  are  trying  to  relieve  this  acute  and 

‘Christie,  “Thirty  Years  in  Moukden,”  p.  38. 


146  MEDICAL  MISSIONS : THE  TWOFOLD  TASK 


stupendous  need  on  the  mission  field  are  but  a drop  in 
the  bucket  compared  with  the  thousands  of  doctors  and 
nurses  who  remain  at  home.  If,  in  addition,  we  throw 
into  the  scale  the  desperate  need  of  the  millions  who 
are  yet  unreached,  there  can  be  no  comparison  between 
the  available  sources  of  supply  at  home  and  abroad. 
In  all  China — nay,  in  all  Asia — there  are  fewer  women 
physicians  than  there  are  in  New  York  City  or  in 
London ; and  as  for  nurses,  the  staff  of  one  military 
hospital  in  France  during  the  war  would  outnumber 
them  all. 

3.  Because  of  the  immense  fruitage.  Neither  lan- 
guage nor  figures  can  set  forth  the  results  in  suffering 
relieved,  lives  repaired,  communities  made  clean  and 
healthy.  But  greater  still  have  been  the  religious  fruits 
from  the  ministry  of  healing.  To  all  that  has  been 
said  above  on  this  subject,  it  may  be  added  that  the 
women  have  been  even  more  responsive  than  the  men. 

The  value  of  medical  missions  in  breaking  down 
prejudice  and  opening  the  door  for  the  Gospel  has 
often  been  demonstrated  in  the  case  of  women  patients. 
Maliza,  the  Toro  Princess,  was  reached  in  the  early 
days  of  the  medical  mission  at  Mengo,  the  capital  of 
Uganda,  in  Central  Africa.  She  lived  at  the  foot  of 
the  snow-capped  Ruwenzori.  Captured  by  Moham- 
medan slave  raiders,  she  had  regained  her  freedom 
and  wras  making  the  long  journey  home  through  Mengo 
on  foot.  Having  contracted  an  affection  of  the  eyes, 
she  visited  the  Enyumba  Yedagala  (House  of  Medi- 
cine). She  recovered  and  resumed  her  journey,  re- 
turning to  Toro,  her  native  country.  Here  she  was 
received  with  great  honor,  but  at  once  sought  out  the 
missionary,  told  him  of  her  treatment  in  Mengo,  and 
said,  “ I want  to  learn  about  a religion  which  teaches 
its  followers  to  be  as  kind  as  that.”  When  years  after- 
wards Dr.  Albert  Cook  was  on  a visit  to  Uganda,  he 


WOMAN’S  WORK  FOR  WOMAN 


147 


was  told  that  the  King  of  Toro  was  then  on  a visit 
to  the  King  of  Bunyoro,  and  that  his  “ entourage  in- 
cluded this  Christian  princess.  They  found  her  visit- 
ing the  princesses  of  Bunyoro,  teaching  them  and  doing 
the  work  of  an  evangelist.”  Once  again  it  happened 
that  the  doctor  was  the  hinge  upon  which  the  door  of 
opportunity  turned. 

Although  the  out-door  clinic  is  not  very  satisfactory, 
it  gives  a rare  opportunity  for  seed-sowing,  and  is  not 
to  be  despised.  Some  of  the  best  converts  have  been 
won  here.  Sakineh,  a bigoted  Moslem,  came  repeat- 
edly to  get  medicine  for  her  aunt,  but  always  tried  to 
leave  before  chapel  was  over.  She  heard  enough,  how- 
ever, to  touch  her  heart  and  began  making  ex- 
cuses to  return  after  her  aunt  had  recovered. 
The  following  year  she  was  herself  a patient  hav- 
ing been  so  abused  by  her  husband  that  she  fell 
ill.  He  then  divorced  her.  She  was  reported  to 
her  father  as  an  infidel,  and  she  received  a severe 
beating.  In  spite  of  this  she  joined  the  Bible  class, 
regularly  attended  Sunday  service,  renounced  her 
faith  in  Islam,  and  declared  her  allegiance  to  Jesus 
Christ.  Systematic  boycotting  began.  She  persisted, 
however,  in  telling  “ the  glad  tidings.”  She  was  pelted 
with  mud  and  stones,  and  hooted  at  in  the  streets  as  a 
“ Christian  dog.”  “A  night  or  two  later  she  was 
cruelly  beaten  by  her  uncle,  and  was  much  bruised  and 
cut,  but  she  was  not  the  least  daunted.”  A mob  then 
surrounded  the  house  and  threatened  her  life.  Low- 
ered over  the  village  wall,  she  fled  to  the  missionaries 
for  protection.  Though  unnerved  she  kept  on  repeat- 
ing, “ I have  not  denied  Christ.  I want  to  live  and  die 
a Christian.”  The  Governor  demanded  her  and  her 
little  boy.  For  two  years  she  was  not  allowed  to  hold 
communication  with  the  Mission,  but  finally  being  re- 
leased she  had  the  joy  of  seeing  her  mother  baptized. 


148  MEDICAL  MISSIONS:  THE  TWOFOLD  TASK 


The  answers  to  her  prayers  were  so  remarkable  that 
the  Christian  women  were  in  the  habit  of  saying  that 
when  they  wanted  anything  badly,  “ we  ask  God  to 
give  us  one  of  Sakineh’s  answers.”  One  such  convert 
is  worth  all  the  investment  in  medical  missions.  Nay, 
more.  It  is  a demonstration  that  Moslem  women  and 
the  Moslem  world  can  be  brought  to  Christ. 

Apart  from  any  words  that  may  be  spoken  there  is 
always  the  opportunity  in  medical  work  to  preach  the 
gospel  of  love  in  the  concrete  terms  of  friendly  service. 
It  has  an  eloquence  that  elicits  a sure  response.  The 
gratitude  that  is  awakened  by  the  sympathetic  ministry 
of  women  doctors  is  often  touching.  At  Guntur,  India, 
in  connection  with  the  magnificent  Lutheran  Hospital 
under  the  charge  of  Dr.  A.  S.  Krugler,  there  is  a new 
inn  for  the  friends  of  the  many  patients.  It  was  given 
by  the  Rajah  in  gratitude  for  the  life  of  his  son.  The 
little  prince  was  very  ill,  and  the  anxious  doctor  slept 
for  two  weeks  on  the  veranda  near  his  cot.  Early  one 
morning  she  heard  footsteps.  Listening  she  saw  in 
the  dim  light  the  Rajah  bending  over  the  boy  and 
heard  the  words,  “ Our  Father  who  art  in  Heaven.” 
God  gave  the  little  son  back  to  life,  and  the  father 
received  it  as  a token  of  God’s  love  and  yielded  his 
heart  to  Christ.  It  is  but  another  illustration  of  the 
love  that  makes  it  divine  to  give,  and  human  to  receive. 

As  showing  the  appreciation  of  a man  for  the  woman 
doctor’s  attention  to  his  wife,  we  quote  two  cases  given 
by  Mr.  Sherwood  Eddy  which  also  illustrate  the 
struggle  a native  Indian  may  have  with  the  English 
language. 


No.  1 — Cured 

“ Dear  She, 

My  wife  has  returned  from  your  hospital  cured.  Provided 
males  are  allowed  in  your  bungalow,  T would  like  to  do  you 


WOMAN’S  WORK  FOR  WOMAN 


140 


the  honor  of  presenting  myself  there  this  afternoon.  But  I 
will  not  try  to  repay  you ; vengeance  belongeth  unto  God. 

Yours  noticeably,” 

No.  2 — Dead 
“Dear  and  Fair  Madam, 

I have  much  pleasure  to  inform  you  that  my  dearly  un- 
fortunate wife  will  be  no  longer  under  your  kind  treatment, 
she  having  left  this  world  for  the  other  on  the  night  of  the 
27th  ultimo.  For  your  help  in  this  matter  I shall  ever  remain 
grateful. 

Yours  reverently,” 

III.  The  Training  of  Native  Workers 

The  need  for  native  women,  trained  and  qualified 
as  physicians  and  nurses,  in  China  and  India,  is  im- 
perative. We  must  remember  that  there  are  nearly 
two  hundred  million  women  and  children  in  China  who 
have  no  adequate  care  for  their  health,  and  no  intelli- 
gent ministry  for  either  body  or  soul ; and  in  India, 
notwithstanding  the  agencies  of  the  British  govern- 
ment, the  admirable  Dutferin  hospital  system,  and 
missionary  effort  in  all  parts  of  the  empire,  there  are 
at  least  another  million  yet  unreached.  A more  at- 
tractive field  for  service,  to  be  rendered  by  any  Amer- 
ican or  English  woman  in  the  training  of  native  women, 
could  hardly  be  found. 

Dr.  Arthur  Smith  quotes  an  editorial  in  the  China 
Mail  as  an  unbiased  testimony:  “Among  the  present 
day  developments  of  mission  work  and  general  prog- 
ress there  is  nothing  of  more  importance  than  the 
thorough  training  of  Chinese  women  in  western  medi- 
cine and  surgery.  The  field  for  such  when  properly 
qualified  is  practically  limitless.”  The  first  medical 
college  for  women  in  China  was  established  in  1902 
in  the  city  of  Canton.  In  addition  to  an  audience  of 
seven  hundred,  the  Viceroy  and  other  officials  were 


ISO  MEDICAL  MISSIONS:  THE  TWOFOLD  TASK 


present  or  represented  by  deputation.  “A  guard  of 
five  hundred  soldiers  lined  the  streets  in  the  neighbor- 
hood to  do  honor  to  the  occasion.  The  Woolston 
Memorial  Hospital  at  Foochow  has  had  for  years  at 
its  head  Dr.  Hu  King  Eng,  the  daughter  of  a native 
minister.  She  graduated  at  the  Woman’s  Medical  Col- 
lege, Philadelphia.  In  a single  year  she  has  treated 
over  15,000  patients.  In  Kukiang,  on  the  Yangtse 
river,  two  other  Chinese  women  doctors,  Dr.  Mary 
Stone  and  Dr.  Ida  Kahn,  of  the  second  generation  of 
Christians,  and  graduates  of  the  University  of  Michi- 
gan, have  been  conducting  eminently  successful  hos- 
pital work.  In  the  same  section,  and  in  the  city  of 
Nanking,  Dr.  Tsao,  the  daughter  of  a Chinese  minis- 
ter and  physician,  herself  a graduate  of  medicine  from 
Philadelphia,  is  carrying  on  with  distinguished  ability  a 
hospital  under  the  auspices  of  the  Friends. 

Someone  may  ask  the  specific  reasons  for  the  train- 
ing of  native  women  on  the  mission  field.  They  are : 

1.  The  body  of  women  medical  missionaries  and 
nurses  now  on  the  field  is  inadequate  to  reach  one  in 
a thousand  of  those  who  are  in  need  of  their  help. 

2.  The  enlisting  and  qualifying  of  native  workers, 
even  in  small  numbers,  would  greatly  relieve  the  al- 
ready over-burdened  medical  missionaries. 

3.  The  native  woman  doctor  or  nurse,  including  the 
trained  obstetrical  nurse  or  mid-wife,  frequently  has 
access  where  the  foreigner  is  not  welcome,  or  is  not 
admitted  at  all. 

4.  The  few  native  women  who  have  qualified  in 
England,  in  the  United  States,  or  in  their  own  country, 
have  shown  great  skill  in  private  practice  and  marked 
ability  in  the  superintendency  of  hospitals.  They  have 
large  capacity  for  leadership.  Several  of  these  are  at 
the  head  of  important  institutions  under  missionary 
or  government  auspices. 


Dr.  Mary  Stone  and  Assistants  in  Operating  Room  of  Her  Hospital  (Danforth  Memorial), 

Kiniciang,  China 


* 


l 


WOMAN’S  WORK  FOR  WOMAN 


I5i 

5.  The  heavy  expense  of  sending  students  to  Great 
Britain,  Canada  or  the  United  States  and  training  them 
there  for  five  or  six  years,  precludes  the  possibility  of 
any  large  number  ever  preparing  in  these  countries  for 
medical  work. 

6.  Education  on  the  field  also  prevents  that  tendency 
to  denationalization  which  is  so  serious  an  objection  to 
students  going  too  young  and  spending  too  much  time 
abroad.  Postgraduate  work  abroad,  for  mature  men 
and  women  only,  is,  of  course,  not  open  to  this  ob- 
jection. 

7.  If  the  Mission  Boards  and  their  representatives 
do  not  undertake  this  training  work,  it  will  be  taken 
up  at  a later  date  by  the  native  governments.  It  will 
then  be  done  under  conditions  unfavorable  to  the  high- 
est moral  and  religious  ideals,  and  the  Church  will  have 
lost  one  of  its  greatest  opportunities  and  most  poten- 
tial agencies  for  presenting  Christianity  in  the  concrete. 
It  is  but  just  to  say  that  the  provision  for  the  educa- 
tion of  women  practitioners  and  nurses  in  India, 
whether  under  missionary  societies  or  the  government 
of  the  country,  is  forging  ahead  with  rapid  strides.  A 
number  of  the  native  princes  have  been  very  liberal 
in  gifts  of  lands,  buildings,  and  funds  for  hospitals 
and  for  medical  education.  The  same  is  true  of  some 
high  officials  in  China. 


IV.  The  Trained  Nurse  in  the  Mission  Field 
Florence  Nightingale  rediscovered  the  use  of  the 
human  hand.  With  her  entry  into  the  Crimean  War, 
in  1853,  there  came  a new  era  in  the  ministry  to  the 
body.  After  the  first  century,  the  hand  seemed  to  have 
lost  its  higher  and  diviner  touch.  She  restored  it  to 
its  rightful  place  and  mission.  She  created  a new 
sphere  and  a new  calling  for  woman.  With  her  estab- 
lishment of  the  first  Training  School  for  Nurses  at 


152  MEDICAL  MISSIONS:  THE  TWOFOLD  TASK 


St.  Thomas  Hospital,  London,  this  ministry  was  recog- 
nized and  put  upon  an  enduring  basis.  The  first 
Nurses  Training  School  in  the  United  States  was 
opened  in  1873,  Linda  Richards  being  the  first  grad- 
uate and  superintendent. 

The  world’s  fingers  have  never  been  so  gentle  as  now,  be- 
cause the  world’s  heart  has  never  been  so  tender.  Never  have 
there  been  so  many  millions  of  dollars  expended  in  medicines 
and  comforts,  and  never  has  human  genius  put  forth  such 
strenuous  efforts  to  relieve  pain,  and  bring  half-dead  men 
back  to  life  again.  War  beats  men  down  into  blood  and  mire, 
it  tears  their  flesh  and  splinters  their  bone,  but  the  human 
heart  is  infinitely  pitiful,  and  what  man  has  marred  man  also 
labors  to  restore.  Man  is  a great  destroyer.  He  is  a great 
saviour  too.  He  is  a great  hater  — and  likewise  a great  lover. 
The  deepest  thing  in  him  is  his  love.  . . . The  Red  Cross  is 
the  symbol  of  the  new  spirit.  It  is  the  prophecy  of  the  world 
that  is  to  be.  When  you  get  sick  at  heart,  pondering  the 
cruelty  and  heartlessness  of  the  War,  then  look  upon  the 
Red  Cross,  a flower  of  Paradise  blooming  on  the  field  of 
blood.1 

The  introduction  of  the  trained  nurse  into  the  Far 
Fast  was  due  to  the  medical  missionary.  Dr.  John  C. 
Berry  of  the  American  Board,  in  addition  to  public 
lectures  and  the  circulation  of  literature  on  hygiene  and 
sanitation,  began  the  systematic  and  scientific  training 
of  Japanese  women  in  Okayama  and  Kyoto,  placing 
great  emphasis  upon  this  arm  of  the  service.  While  it 
was  a new  departure,  the  idea,  as  Dr.  Barton  remarks, 
met  with  such  favor  that  a member  of  one  of  the 
earlier  groups  under  training  was  summoned  to  the 
imperial  palace  to  nurse  the  young  prince. 

With  the  growing  number  of  patients,  and  the  in- 
creased willingness  of  native  people  to  receive  treat- 
ment, the  skilled  help  of  nurses  is  urgently  required  in 
mission  lands.  We  may  take  two  fields  by  way  of  il- 
lustration. The  demand  in  Persia  is  strongly  empha- 

1 Jefferson,  “What  the  War  is  Teaching,”  p.  85. 


WOMAN’S  WORK  FOR  WOMAN 


153 

sized  by  Dr.  White  of  that  field  who  states  that  in  his 
own  Society,  under  which  there  are  ninety  hospitals 
and  dispensaries  and  87  doctors,  there  are  only  67 
nurses.  Twenty  fewer  nurses  than  doctors  ! At  home 
every  doctor  in  charge  of  an  institution  must  have  a 
staff  of  nurses.  Here  are  twenty-three  hospitals  and 
dispensaries  without  a nurse,  and  in  a field  of  desperate 
need.  Who  shall  say  how  desperate  since  the  begin- 
ning of  the  war  with  its  sick  and  overborne  refugees, 
its  wounded,  and  the  slaughter  and  mutilation  of  inno- 
cents in  Armenia  and  in  Syria.  Dr.  White  adds,  “ The 
nurse  has  an  immense  sphere  of  influence — all  kinds 
of  men,  from  princes  to  brigands,  coming  to  the  hos- 
pital, and  the  object  lesson  of  the  nurse’s  life  is  often 
the  strongest  proof  to  them  of  the  love  of  God.” 

The  demand  in  Latin  America  for  nurses  is  almost 
as  urgent  as  in  the  Eastern  fields.  There  are  skilled 
physicians  and  surgeons  in  the  great  cities  of  Rio  de 
Janeiro,  Buenos  Ayres,  and  Santiago.  These  are  the 
peers  of  any  in  the  profession — men  educated  in  Paris, 
Berlin  and  Vienna,  but  they  are  the  few.  The  wealthy 
and  the  well-to-do  middle  class  have  almost  a monop- 
oly of  their  services.  The  condition  of  the  women  of 
the  lowest  classes  is  pitiful  indeed.  Disease  and  dirt, 
neglect  and  misery  abound,  especially  in  the  largos , or 
enclosed  courts  in  the  city.  They  are  preyed  upon  by 
designing  quacks  and  ignorant  charlatans.  Trained 
nurses,  who  believe  in  their  call  to  a life  mission,  could 
do  much  to  relieve  this  situation,  but  trained  nurses 
are  scarcely  to  be  found  in  those  cities.  The  nursing 
in  the  wards  of  the  general  hospitals  is  left  to  the  Sis- 
ters of  Charity,  who,  unfortunately,  lack  training  and 
efficiency.  And  amid  all  the  physical  suffering  of 
women  and  children  outside  the  great  cities,  trained 
nurses  are  conspicuously  absent.  Of  women  practi- 
tioners there  are  none. 


154  MEDICAL  MISSIONS:  THE  TWOFOLD  TASK 


We  have  spoken  of  Persia  and  Latin  America 
merely  as  typical  fields.  The  need  for  trained  nurses 
is  quite  as  great  in  most  of  the  mission  areas  of  the 
world. 

What  was  said  above  of  the  appreciation  and  grati- 
tude with  which  the  work  of  women  doctors  is  re- 
ceived in  non-Christian  lands  is  equally  true  of  nurses. 
There  are  exceptions  of  course.  Miss  Barnes  tells  of 
a poor  woman  suffering  from  pneumonia,  who  was 
being  carefully  nursed  in  St.  Mary’s  hospital  at  Tarn 
Taren.  Before  morning  the  mother-in-law,  mad  with 
jealousy  and  declaring  that  the  patient  was  being 
poisoned,  stole  to  the  bedside  of  the  sick  woman. 
Stripping  off  her  clothing,  she  dragged  her  out  and 
dropped  her  by  the  tank  to  die,  while  she  spread  the 
report  that  Sahiba,  the  woman  doctor,  had  poisoned 
her  daughter-in-law. 

But  such  cases  are  rare.  A grateful  response  to  the 
ministry  of  the  nurse  is  the  rule.  After  the  great 
plague  of  1897  in  India,  Miss  Rachel  Piggott  received 
a letter  from  the  Indian  authorities,  which  ran  as  fol- 
lows: “ On  behalf  of  the  Hindu  Panchayat,  I beg  to 
tender  you  our  warmest  thanks  for  the  voluntary  help 
you  so  freely  rendered  in  nursing  patients  in  the 
Plague  Hospital  at  a critical  time  and  at  great  personal 
risk.  Such  noble,  unselfish  work  is  always  blessed  and 
it  is  a privilege  to  express  our  gratitude  to  you  for 
the  important  part  you  have  taken  in  saving  human 
life.”1 

This  statement  recalls  the  terrible  yellow  fever  epi- 
demic in  Brazil,  a number  of  years  ago,  which  ravaged 
the  towns  in  the  interior  and  especially  the  city  of 
Ribeirao  Preto  on  the  fringe  of  the  great  coffee  dis- 
trict. Every  house  had  its  victim.  There  were  no 

•Irene  II.  Barnes,  “Between  Life  and  Death/’  p.  81. 


WOMAN’S  WORK  FOR  WOMAN 


155 


nurses  and  the  Brazilian  doctors  were  unable  to  cope 
with  the  situation  without  help.  They  came  to  Miss 
Willie  Bowman  and  Miss  Ada  Stewart  of  the  Meth- 
odist Mission,  and  asked  if  they  would  not  take  charge 
of  the  hospital.  While  they  were  not  immune  and  had 
no  experience  as  trained  nurses,  they  felt  it  impossible 
to  deny  the  request.  With  their  own  hands  they  nursed 
nearly  one  thousand  patients,  and  came  out  of  it  un- 
scathed. To  this  day,  the  memory  of  these  two  heroic 
women  is  enshrined  in  the  hearts  of  Roman  Catholic 
and  Protestant  people  alike,  and  they  have  won  for 
Christianity  of  the  sacrificial  type  an  abiding  place  in 
all  that  section  of  Brazil. 

The  personal  qualifications  of  a trained  nurse  are 
admirably  set  forth  by  a woman  of  large  experience. 
They  are  “ a sound,  wholesome  character,  even  dis- 
position, and  a genial,  helpful  spirit.  Culture  and  re- 
finement shown  in  dignity  and  courtesy  of  manner, 
tasteful  dress,  correct  speech,  agreeable  voice  and 
freedom  from  objectionable  mannerisms;  friendliness 
and  tact  in  dealing  with  people,  combined  with  a 
reasonable  degree  of  firmness  and  decision,  and  a 
healthy  sense  of  humor;  enthusiasm,  vigor  and  re- 
sourcefulness in  planning  and  carrying  on  one’s  work, 
combined  with  systematic  and  orderly  habits  and  good 
staying  qualities.  A keen,  well-balanced,  well-ordered 
mind  combined  with  a real  love  for  students  and  a 
strong  desire  to  help  others  to  enjoy  and  profit  by  the 
knowledge  to  be  given.”1 

To  the  foregoing,  which  applies  to  missionary  nurses 
and  nurse  superintendents  who  are  to  train  others,  I 
would  add : a high  purpose,  a clean  life,  good  health, 
cheerfulness,  obedience  to  authority,  a willingness  to 
work  and  the  fear  of  God.  What  more  can  we  ask? 
And  yet,  these  are  not  impossible  requirements. 

1 Isabella  Stewart,  in  the  American  Journal  of  Nursing,  January,  1917. 


156  MEDICAL  MISSIONS:  THE  TWOFOLD  TASK 


The  trials  of  a trained  nurse  on  the  foreign  field  are 
more  numerous  and  annoying  than  at  home.  For  ex- 
ample, the  inability  to  get  patients  to  understand  and 
follow  directions;  constitutional  objections  to  cleanli- 
ness, as  in  those  lands  where  a bath  is  “ an  almost  un- 
known luxury  or  an  annual  ceremony”;  the  handling 
of  vermin  infested  cotton-padded  clothing.  Then  there 
is  the  fear  of  fresh  air,  sick  rooms  in  India  and  in 
China  as  a rule  being  kept  close  and  stuffy.  Even  in 
stifling  equatorial  heat  the  African  will  almost  her- 
metically seal  up  his  hut  and  croon  over  the  fire  on 
the  dirt  floor.  Moreover,  one  often  meets  an  aversion, 
because  of  superstition  or  religious  scruples,  to  using 
certain  articles  of  diet,  such  as  beef  or  mutton  broth, 
cow's  milk  and  eggs,  and  just  as  often  a readiness  to 
eat  the  most  indigestible  substances,  such  as  unripe 
melons,  hard  pears  and  green  plums.  In  most  non- 
Christian  lands  contagion  is  not  feared,  and  the  natives, 
therefore,  disregard  the  necessity  of  quarantine.  Rest 
and  immobility  for  a broken  limb  are  ignored,  while 
the  presence  of  officious  friends  and  relatives,  with 
their  noisy  talking,  attempts  at  smoking  in  wards,  and 
the  surreptitious  introduction  of  prohibited  articles  of 
food,  increase  the  wear  and  tear  upon  one’s  nerves. 

The  following  is  true  to  every  day  occurrence  in 
the  experience  of  some  missionary  nurses : 

The  patients  who  have  been  supplied  with  new  beds  and 
bedding  are  found  in  the  morning  to  have  moved  on  to  the 
floor,  the  medicine  is  taken  by  the  wrong  person,  or  applied 
inwardly  instead  of  outwardly,  or  several  days’  supply  is  con- 
sumed at  one  gulp.  The  bandage  that  has  relieved  pain  on 
a suppurating  leg  is  removed,  and  applied  in  place  of  an 
aseptic  dressing  to  a clean  wound,  or  even  to  the  eye,  causing 
total  blindness.  The  clinical  thermometer  is  supposed  to 
have  some  curative  value,  and  is  crunched  to  powder  and 
swallowed;  an  emergency  operation  must  be  performed  in  the 
midst  of  indescribable  filth  with  men,  women  and  children 


1 


Korean  Nurses  and  Patient 
Before  the  Operation  and  Ten  Days  After 


WOMAN’S  WORK  FOR  WOMAN 


157 


crowding  around,  not  to  mention  dogs  and  cats  and  small 
things  innumerable.1 

The  field  of  work  is  almost  unlimited.  In  pagan 
lands  more  than  in  Christian  communities  there  is 
deficient  vitality,  blindness,  deafness,  old  ulcers,  latent 
tuberculosis,  neurasthenia,  and  almost  innumerable 
troubles  growing  out  of  ignorance  and  secret  vice  and 
the  lack  of  care  and  nourishment,  especially  in  regard 
to  children.  The  alert  visiting  nurse,  and  there  should 
be  one  for  district  work  to  every  hospital,  can  be  in- 
valuable in  the  control  of  quarantine  in  epidemics,  in 
the  education  of  the  community,  in  the  disinfection  of 
homes,  in  making  reports  to  the  hospital  staff  or  to 
local  health  boards,  now  beginning  to  be  organized  in 
India  and  in  China ; and  in  “ the  follow  up,”  so  essen- 
tial to  the  complete  success  of  dispensary  and  hospital 
work. 

The  majority  of  cases  of  cholera  infantum  are  said 
to  be  directly  due  to  the  visit  of  the  house  fly  from 
the  cesspool  or  garbage  pile  to  the  food  of  the  children. 
It  is  estimated  that  seventy-five  per  cent  of  those  living 
in  Christian  countries  need  instruction  in  ventilation, 
dietetics,  screening  and  drainage,  and  of  the  care  of 
milk  and  meat  supply.  If  this  is  true  of  civilized 
countries,  how  much  more  in  those  lands  where  illit- 
eracy and  ignorance  are  entrenched  and  where  Chris- 
tianity must  make  a stand  for  physical  health  as  well 
as  for  moral  vigor,  for  the  two  are  bound  up  together. 

Surpassing  all  that  has  been  said  above  of  the  great 
service  which  the  trained  nurse  may  render  in  the 
mission  field  is  the  opportunity  that  comes  to  many  to 
develop  native  nurses.  It  means  nothing  less  in  some 
sections  than  the  creating  of  the  nursing  profession 
amid  the  suffering  of  a vast  population.  What  better 

1 Elma  K.  Paget,  " The  Claim  of  Suffering,”  Chapter  IV. 


158  MEDICAL  MISSIONS:  THE  TWOFOLD  TASK 


chance  is  there  anywhere  for  a trained  devoted  woman 
to  do  an  uplifting  thing  for  humanity? 

V.  The  Motive  and  the  Call 

What  motive  save  that  of  love  could  be  sufficient  to 
propel  the  life  of  a woman  doctor  or  nurse  into  the 
mission  field  and  maintain  it  there  through  a long 
stretch  of  trying  years  as  a vigorous  instrument  of 
Christian  redemption?  How  dynamic  and  far-reaching 
a motive  it  is!  Who  can  measure  its  ingenuity  and 
resourcefulness?  It  concerns  itself  about  one  single 
life  and  echoes  the  sentiment  of  Miss  Laura  Haygood 
who  left  a great  educational  work  in  Atlanta,  Georgia, 
to  spend  herself  in  behalf  of  China’s  women  and  chil- 
dren— “ Wherever  there  is  a soul  without  Christ  there 
is  my  mission  field.”  Or  it  lavishes  its  wealth  upon 
the  heart  of  humanity  with  the  spirit  of  Mary  Lyon,  of 
Mount  Holyoke,  and  sends  out  Christian  teachers  into 
many  fields,  with  the  motto,  “ Go  where  you  are  needed 
most.”  Such  love  as  this  knows  no  limitations,  but 
must  have  an  objective.  “ It  is  forever  revealing  new 
powers  and  creating  new  situations,”  and  then  it  busies 
itself  finding  ways  and  means  to  exercise  those  powers. 
With  love  as  an  impelling  force,  “ the  moral  life  of  the 
spiritual  man  has  no  terminus ; there  is  no  known  point 
at  which  he  can  say, 0 1 have  attained.’  ” It  is  here  that 
human  life  is  reaching  ever  upward  into  the  infinite 
for  grace  and  enthusiasm,  and  then,  seeking  its  ob- 
jective, begins,  with  divine  compassion,  to  reach  down- 
ward to  kindle  the  first  of  new  and  tender  ministries 
to  the  bodies  and  the  souls  of  men. 

The  call  to  a life-work,  whether  that  of  a medical 
missionary  or  trained  nurse,  is  it  only  an  urgent  sense 
of  need,  a desire  to  help,  or  a feeling  of  fitness  or  of 
responsibility?  It  is  not  any  one  of  these.  It  includes 
them  all  but  goes  far  beyond.  It  is  a vocation — one 


WOMAN’S  WORK  FOR  WOMAN  159 

which  comes  through  a sense  of  personal  obligation  for 
a woman  to  place  her  life  where  God  wills,  and  where 
Christ  can  use  it  with  all  its  powers.  Such  a life  can 
then  “ sound  forth  the  deep  notes  of  self-fulfillment,” 
for  it  is  tuned  to  “ the  unseen  and  the  infinite  by  the 
constant  pressure  of  profound  motive.”  The  most  di- 
rect way,  therefore,  of  meeting  the  call  and  of  achiev- 
ing self-fulfillment  is  to  give  Christ  an  opportunity  for 
expression  in  the  service  of  humanity.  We  are,  in 
other  words,  saved  to  serve. 

If  great  artists  and  sculptors  like  Leonardo  da  Vinci 
and  Michael  Angelo,  have  “ succeeded  in  idealizing  the 
human  form  as  a vehicle  of  grace  and  truth,  of  noblest 
thoughts  and  tenderest  sympathies,”  is  there  not  a 
larger  and  a nobler  Christ  to  be  discovered  to  men 
and  to  be  reincarnated  in  their  lives?  Jesus  has  been 
spoken  of  as  the  greatest  artist  of  living.  Then  shall 
we  not  also  be  artists?  Is  this  not  our  aim?  Is  this 
not  worth  working  for  ? Surely  the  missionary  doctor 
and  the  nurse  who  would  restore  pristine  health  and 
the  true  and  the  beautiful  to  the  human  body  and  to 
the  human  life  will  find  not  men  and  women  simply, 
but  what  Christ  represented — humanity  and  divinity — 
the  child  of  man  and  the  child  of  God. 

To  sum  up,  why  should  a young  woman  who  is  free 
to  go  abroad  choose  this  work  rather  than  a life  work 
at  home?  Because  of  the  few  who  can  go,  because  of 
the  bigness  of  the  task,  the  depth  of  the  need,  the 
abundance  of  the  fruitage,  and  the  obligation  to  help 
those  who  need  us  most ; and  not  least  of  all,  because 
in  ministering  to  those  who  suffer,  one  may  minister 
to  Him  who  bore  the  burdens  of  humanity  and  was 
acquainted  with  its  griefs. 

The  demand,  on  account  of  the  depletion  of  the 
staff  of  medical  practitioners  during  the  years  of  the 
great  war,  is  now  more  than  urgent — it  is  acute.  The 


160  MEDICAL  MISSIONS:  THE  TWOFOLD  TASK 


dictates  of  necessity  and  of  wisdom  require  that  prep- 
aration be  begun  at  once,  since  such  preparation  must 
cover  several  years.  The  women  of  China  and  India 
need  you.  Christ  needs  you  in  these  and  other  fields 
now.  Will  you  volunteer? 


THE  CHALLENGE 


“ The  prayer  that  has  been  mine  for  twenty  years,  that  I 
might  be  permitted  in  some  way  or  at  some  time  to  do  some- 
thing to  alleviate  human  suffering,  has  been  granted!  ” 

Dr.  Walter  Reed. 

“Away  with  the  faithless  plea,  which  cannot  abide  the  light: 
Be  wholly  for  Christ,  and  He  will  teach  thee  to  speak  aright, 
His  love  shall  supply  the  power,  the  measure,  the  mode,  the 
theme ; 

Thou  hast  but  the  present  hour,  oh,  spend  every  breath  for 
Him.” 


Dr.  Harold  Schofield. 


VII 


THE  CHALLENGE 

The  field  of  medical  missions  is  a challenge  to  noble 
and  unsparing  endeavor.  The  life  of  the  medical  mis- 
sionary when  devoted  to  the  extension  of  the  Kingdom 
of  God,  has,  in  a special  manner,  the  divine  approval. 
The  ministry  of  mercy  was  so  wrought  into  the  life 
of  Jesus  Christ  and  his  disciples  that  we  must  con- 
clude it  to  be  an  integral  part  of  the  divine  purpose  and 
program.  Of  all  the  agencies  and  methods  employed 
by  the  Church,  in  her  endeavor  to  evangelize  the  world, 
there  is  none  more  Christlike  than  this.  Following 
His  example,  it  at  once  puts  itself  in  sympathetic  touch 
with  the  body  and  carries  restorative  power  to  the  soul. 

Here  is  a challenge  to  the  young  men  and  women 
of  our  schools  and  colleges — those  who  can  throw 
themselves  with  purpose  and  enthusiasm  into  a great 
enterprise.  It  must  appeal,  and  it  does  appeal,  to 
young  life  especially,  because  of  its  element  of  heroic 
service,  and  because  the  students  of  this  decade  have 
come  to  the  hour  when  God  and  humanity  need  that 
service  most.  It  is  an  hour  for  diligent  preparation, 
efficiency,  skill,  and  vigorous  initiative  to  the  limit  of 
strength  and  capacity.  At  no  time  in  the  history  of 
our  race  have  the  words  of  Carlyle  been  more  appro- 
priate : “ Produce  1 Produce  ! Were  it  but  the  piti- 
fulest,  infinitesimal  fraction  of  a problem,  produce  it, 
in  God’s  name!  ’Tis  the  utmost  thou  hast  in  these; 
out  with  it  then.  Up ! Up ! ” 

It  is  to  the  Christian  physician  that  the  challenge 
comes  to  enter  the  world’s  arena  and  grapple  with  the 

163 


164  MEDICAL  MISSIONS:  THE  TWOFOLD  TASK 


ills  and  misfortunes  of  humanity;  to  explore  the  fields 
and  to  supply  the  forces  which  can  remedy  those  ills ; 
and  to  help  his  ministerial  and  educational  colleagues 
in  creating  a new  social  and  religious  order  Let  us 
consider  in  this  chapter  the  nature  of  this  challenge 
to  medical  missionary  work,  as  it  comes  to  us  from 
three  lines  of  approach. 

I.  The  Challenge  of  the  Changing  World  Order 

A changing  world  order  constitutes  a challenge  to 
Christian  leadership.  The  medical  missionary  has  had 
a real  share  in  the  laying  of  foundations  and  in  the 
shaping  of  events  in  the  past ; how  much  greater  will 
be  his  share  in  the  reconstruction  period  of  the  future? 
We  are  facing  a situation  the  potentiality  of  which  no 
man  can  measure.  With  all  Europe  in  the  melting  pot, 
social  and  political  turmoil  in  the  Near  East,  industrial 
and  religious  upheavals  in  the  Far  East,  and  with  a 
larger  interpretation  of  life  and  of  service,  we  are  on 
the  threshold  of  a new  era  in  the  world’s  history — one 
which  should  prove  a renascence  of  greater  reach  and 
significance  than  that  which  preceded  the  Reformation. 
It  remains  with  us  to  make  it  such.  If  Paul  and  his 
medical  companion  planned  their  journeys  with  the 
outline  of  the  Roman  Empire  and  its  provinces  before 
them,  shall  we  not  lay  out  our  program  with  our  eyes 
upon  the  map  of  the  world? 

With  the  discovery  of  the  individual — a discovery  of 
Christianity — there  has  been  a steady  growth  not  only 
in  the  spirit  of  nationalism  but  also  in  a world  con- 
sciousness which  tends  to  a realization  of  the  brother- 
hood of  the  race.  Neighborhood  already  has  come  as 
between  all  regions  wherein  men  dwell.  Distance  is 
disappearing.  And  brotherhood  should  follow  after 
neighborhood.  But  the  sense  of  brotherhood  does  not 
prevail  till  the  spirit  of  Christ  is  felt  in  the  neighbor- 


THE  CHALLENGE 


165 

hood.  The  barriers  of  custom  and  caste  give  way- 
before  that  spirit ; but  without  it  there  will  be  neigh- 
borhood without  neighborliness  and  friction  and  strife 
will  multiply.  It  is  a time,  therefore,  for  a new  effort 
on  the  part  of  all  Christians  to  interpret  Christ  to  the 
nations  in  terms  of  unselfish  brotherly  service.  And 
in  no  way  can  this  interpretation  more  adequately  be 
made  than  through  the  medium  of  medical  missions. 

As  indicating  the  significance  of  the  rapid  changes  in 
the  world  situation  which  now  challenges  the  full 
strength  of  Christianity,  we  may  point  out  the  new 
accessibility  of  many  parts  of  the  world  to  missionary 
effort.  The  development  of  means  of  communication 
is  not  the  main  reason  for  this,  as  religious  bigotry 
and  governmental  restrictions  have  been  greater  bar- 
riers than  physical  difficulties  in  the  pioneering  of  new 
mission  fields.  But  these  barriers  are  giving  way. 
Peru  has  been  granted  religious  liberty  and  in  other 
parts  of  Latin  America  there  are  many  recent  signs 
of  similar  freedom  being  granted.  The  Mohammedan 
populations  of  the  world,  yesterday  so  bigoted  and  so 
fiercely  intolerant  of  Christian  efforts  among  them,  are 
now  showing  an  interest  in  the  Christian  message  that 
is  truly  remarkable.  The  European  governments  in 
control  of  Africa  will  probably  be  more  tolerant  of 
aggressive  Christian  work  than  they  were  before  the 
war.  It  is  highly  significant  that  international  labor 
has  taken  its  stand  before  the  Peace  Conference  as 
favoring  full  religious  liberty  in  every  land.  So  far 
as  medical  missions  are  concerned,  it  is  doubtless  to 
them  that  the  hand  of  welcome  will  first  be  extended. 

Coupled  with  these  significant  facts  is  the  possibility 
of  new  centers  of  missionary  strategy  being  added  to 
those  already  occupied.  Bagdad,  on  the  Tigris,  the 
key  to  Mesopotamia  and  the  region  from  the  Persian 
Gulf  to  the  Black  Sea,  already  a center  for  medical 


1 66  MEDICAL  MISSIONS:  THE  TWOFOLD  TASK 


missionary  work,  may  well  become  a reinforcing  point 
for  an  advance  in  the  near  future.  Moscow,  the  heart 
and  religious  center  of  all  the  Russias,  may  be  the 
point  of  departure  for  a leavening  process  east  and 
west  of  the  Ural  Mountains  in  the  Trans-Caspian  re- 
gion, and  on  until  the  nomadic  hordes,  that  wander 
upon  the  roof  of  Asia,  are  reached.  Jerusalem,  the 
religious  Mecca  of  the  world,  where  Cross  and  Crescent 
meet,  bisecting  a base  line  running  along  the  Medi- 
terranean from  Egypt  upon  the  south  to  Asia  Minor 
upon  the  north,  and  the  geographical  and  distributing 
center  of  Syria,  Armenia,  and  the  Near  East,  will 
doubtless  become  the  headquarters  of  the  Christian 
evangelistic  forces,  philanthropic  agencies  and  medical 
relief  in  all  that  quarter  of  the  globe. 

A peculiar  challenge  rises  out  of  the  enhanced  pos- 
sibility of  securing  in  the  lands  of  the  East  a strong 
native  leadership  for  its  Christian  life.  The  wide 
spread  of  education,  the  emancipation  of  woman  in  all 
the  Orient  and  the  great  evangelistic  movements 
among  the  educated  classes  in  China,  Japan  and  India 
where  thousands  have  indicated  their  willingness  to 
accept  Jesus  Christ  are  factors  which  enter  into  this 
opportunity,  an  opportunity  which  is,  to  say  the  least, 
as  true  of  medical  as  of  evangelistic  or  educational 
work.  Ultimately  the  physical  and  spiritual  redemp- 
tion of  every  mission  land  will  rest  with  her  own  sons 
and  daughters  rather  than  with  foreigners ; and  in 
these  years  of  upheaval  and  rapid  change  in  the  na- 
tions of  the  East  no  more  alluring  invitation  comes  to 
the  Christian  West  than  that  of  calling  out  and  train- 
ing large  numbers  of  gifted,  devoted  young  men  and 
women  who  will  be  the  leaders  of  the  Christian  Church 
in  those  lands.  A special  encouragement  along  this 
line  comes  to  medical  work,  because  the  government 
recognition  of  mission  hospitals  and  medical  schools 


THE  CHALLENGE 


167 


in  Japan,  India  and  other  countries,  accompanied  by 
princely  gifts  to  their  work. 

Lack  of  space  forbids  our  surveying  the  profound 
and  significant  changes  of  a social  and  economic  char- 
acter that  offer  a striking  challenge  to  Christian  loyalty 
and  service.  These  are  the  days  of  plasticity.  The 
new  standards  and  ideals  and  institutions  that  will  de- 
termine the  physical  health  and  opportunity  and  the 
whole  manner  of  life  of  great  nations  in  days  to  come 
are  now  in  process  of  formation.  How  important  that 
the  liberating,  transforming  touch  of  Christ  should 
be  laid  upon  them  ! 

Mention  may  be  made,  however,  of  the  rapid  indus- 
trial developments  now  in  process  in  the  countries  of 
the  Orient.  Of  this  Japan  offers  the  most  conspicuous 
illustration.  While  the  population  of  Japan  increased 
twenty-five  per  cent  between  1880  and  1916,  the  popu- 
lation of  her  five  large  industrial  centers  increased 
325  per  cent.  In  thirteen  years  the  population  of 
Tokyo  increased  twenty-nine  per  cent,  but  its  suburbs, 
occupied  by  factories,  increased  415  per  cent  during 
that  period.  In  1883,  there  were  only  125  factories  in 
the  whole  empire,  with  a total  of  15,000  operatives. 
By  the  year  1916,  these  had  grown  to  20,000,  with 
1,000,000  operatives.  The  Japan  Weekly  Mail  is  re- 
sponsible for  the  statement  that  in  1914  there  were 
471,877  women  and  children  employed  in  these  fac- 
tories, 22  per  cent  of  the  latter  being  under  fourteen. 
Many  were  working  fifteen  hours  a day.  The  majority 
of  these  came  from  the  agricultural  class,  as  in  other 
lands.  The  consequences  have  been  detachment  from 
home,  weakening  of  moral  restraints,  child  labor,  un- 
sanitary conditions,  physical  deterioration,  tubercu- 
losis and  immorality.1  Government  regulations,  if 


1 Although  the  new  industrial  conditions  are  only  one  contributing 
factor,  the  social  evil  in  Japan  has  assumed  alarming  proportions.  It 


1 68  MEDICAL  MISSIONS:  THE  TWOFOLD  TASK 


carried  out,  would  in  a measure  safeguard  the  factory 
women  and  children,  and  while,  on  account  of  the 
high  state  of  medical  education  in  the  empire,  there 
is  little  place  for  medical  missionary  work  in  Japan, 
there  is  a field  for  the  creation  and  circulation  of 
literature  on  public  health  and  morals,  and  especially 
the  social  evil,  which  from  the  Christian  standpoint 
should  be  made  a part  of  an  organized  propaganda. 
This  should,  of  course,  be  in  sympathetic  cooperation 
with  the  efforts  of  the  Japanese  Church  and  largely 
under  its  leadership.  Japan  is  fortunate  in  having  in 
Dr.  S.  H.  Wainright,  as  Executive  Secretary  of  the 
Christian  Literature  Society,  amissionary  who  has  had 
medical  training. 

As  the  other  nations  of  the  Orient  follow  Japan’s 
lead  in  industrial  development,  they  are  entering  into 
problems  which  are  similar  to  those  just  described  and 
which  cannot  be  solved  without  medical  assistance, 
both  preventive  and  remedial. 

II.  The  Challenge  of  the  Various  Fields 

Two-thirds  of  the  human  race  is  in  need  of  medical 
relief.  Much  has  been  said  in  the  preceding  pages 
about  this  need  as  it  exists  today  in  various  countries. 
Let  us  now  take  a swift  glance  at  a few  of  the  great 
mission  fields  as  presenting  a challenge  to  medical 
missions. 

Japan  proper,  as  has  already  been  said,  has  a good 
system  of  medical  education  and  foreign  doctors  are 
not  called  for  in  the  older  part  of  that  empire.  But  to 
Formosa  and  Chosen,  or  Korea,  now  parts  of  Japan, 
this  does  not  apply.  Chosen  has  from  the  beginning 
been  a rare  field  for  medical  missions.  While  the 


is  said  that  over  forty  million  yen  was  spent  in  one  year  by  the  guests 
numbering  16,212,669.  Who  knows  how  much  was  spent  in  clandestine 
prostitution? — Christian  Movement  in  the  Japanese  Empire,  1917,  P-  3Jo. 


THE  CHALLENGE 


169 


United  States  was  instrumental  in  opening  the  Hermit 
Kingdom,  from  a political  standpoint,  to  the  outside 
world,  it  was  through  the  initiative  of  a medical  mis- 
sionary that  Protestant  missionaries  were  introduced 
into  Korea.  General  Foote  was  made  our  Minister 
Plenipotentiary  in  1884.  The  year  following.  Dr.  H. 
N.  Allen,  of  the  Presbyterian  Board,  having  been 
providentially  detained  in  Shanghai,  was  transferred 
from  China  to  that  field  and  became  physician  to  the 
Legation.  Not  long  after  his  arrival  in  Seoul,  Prince 
Min  Yong  Ik,  a nephew  of  the  Queen,  was  cut  down 
at  a banquet  under  the  swords  of  assassins  employed 
to  kill  him.  Melted  wax  was  poured  into  the  wounds 
by  the  Korean  doctor.  The  Prince  was  about  to  die 
from  hemorrhage.  Dr.  Allen  was  summoned,  ligated 
the  arteries,  saved  his  life  and  won  the  gratitude  of 
the  King  and  Queen.  This  opened  a land,  hitherto 
hermetically  sealed,  to  the  entrance  of  missionaries, 
evangelistic  and  educational,  as  well  as  medical. 

Several  months  afterward,  one  dark,  rainy  night, 
in  Tientsin,  China,  while  the  writer  was  on  a visit  to 
Dr.  Kenneth  Mackenzie,  a mysterious  messenger 
knocked  at  the  door  and  requested  my  professional 
services  in  the  native  city.  I responded  at  once,  though 
the  messenger  would  not  reveal  his  identity.  Entering 
the  gate  of  the  walled  city  in  a sedan  chair,  we 
threaded  the  narrow  streets,  turned  into  a large  outer 
court,  then  entered  another,  alighted  and  were  shown 
into  a reception  room  where  I found  myself  in  the 
presence  of  Prince  Min.  His  wounds,  the  scars  of 
which  were  all  over  his  back  and  neck  and  arms,  one 
reaching  from  the  helix  of  the  ear  to  the  opposite  hip, 
looked  red  and  angry.  He  felt  anxious  lest  they  might 
break  out  again.  I had  the  pleasure  of  assuring  him 
that  his  fears  were  groundless.  Dr.  Allen  had  done 
his  work  well,  so  well  in  fact  that  the  King  had  placed 


170  MEDICAL  MISSIONS : THE  TWOFOLD  TASK 


him  at  the  head  of  the  Government  Hospital,  and 
though  he  afterwards  went  into  diplomatic  service, 
the  fact  remains  that  it  was  through  his  instrumentality 
that  the  country  was  opened  to  Protestant  missions. 

Through  that  open  door  other  medical  missionaries 
have  entered.  Dr.  O.  R.  Avison  of  the  Presbyterian 
Board,  and  his  staff,  in  charge  of  the  Severance  Hos- 
pital and  of  the  Union  Medical  School  in  Seoul,  are 
doing  a great  work,  the  creation  of  a medical  litera- 
ture being  not  the  least  valuable  product  of  this  school. 
Sixty  miles  to  the  north,  on  the  great  highway,  is 
Songdo,  the  ancient  capital  where  on  the  crest  of  a hill 
stands  the  Ivey  Methodist  Hospital,  under  the  super- 
intendency of  Dr.  Wightman  Reid.  It  is  one  of  those 
unique  institutions  which  not  only  commands  a large 
patronage  in  the  city  itself,  but  draws  from  hundreds 
of  villages  in  all  the  outlying  districts,  and  through  the 
patients,  as  they  return  to  their  homes,  extends  its 
beneficent  influence  in  every  direction.  These  are  two 
samples  of  the  excellent  medical  missionary  work  now 
being  done  in  Chosen. 

But  the  needs  of  that  country  are  still  very  great. 
Smallpox  and  typhoid  fever,  cholera  and  tuberculosis, 
venereal  diseases,  intestinal  troubles  and  diseases  of 
the  eye  are  prevalent.  The  native  practitioner  only 
adds  to  the  problem.  The  sorcerer  in  Korea  is  as 
much  a manipulator  of  evil  spirits  as  is  the  witch 
doctor  in  Africa.  He  conjures  with  a stone  upon 
which  he  spits,  or  with  a rag  or  old  straw  sandal  hung 
upon  a tree.  With  sticks  driven  in  the  ground  here 
and  there,  and  by  the  use  of  his  drum,  he  professes  to 
guide  and  control  the  forces  of  the  animistic  world. 
This  man  is  one  of  the  greatest  obstacles  to  Chris- 
tianity, but  his  spell  is  being  dissipated  as  surely  by 
education  and  medical  science  as  are  the  damp  mias- 
matic vapors  of  the  tropics  before  the  rising  sun. 


Anatomical  Laboratory,  with  Prof.  K.  S.  Oti  and  Students 
Severance  Union  Medical  College,  Seoul,  Ci-iosen 


THE  CHALLENGE 


171 


The  body  of  medical  missionaries  needs  reinforce- 
ment.1 During  the  past  year  two  hospitals  were  with- 
out doctors  in  one  section,  and  in  another,  three  medi- 
cal missionaries  were  trying  to  run  five  hospitals. 

//  China  is  a challenge  to  the  largest  investment  of 
Laith  and  of  life.  She  is  a giant  in  bulk,  but  no  less 
great  in  masterful  qualities  which  make  for  constitu- 
tional and  racial  perpetuity.  Though  hoary  with  age, 
she  is  no  spent  force.  She  has  been  overrun  alter- 
nately by  Mongol  and  Manchu  hordes,  devastated  by 
epidemic  and  plague,  but  seems  to  be  as  virile  as  she 
was  two  thousand  years  ago.  She  has  repeatedly  ab- 
sorbed her  conquerors — her  national  digestion  always 
being  equal  to  the  job — has  survived  both  floods  and 
famines,  which  have  swept  away  their  millions,  and  is 
a nation  with  a destiny,  having  preserved  an  ethical 
basis  for  her  educational  system.  She  has  honored 
parents  and  reverenced  old  age,  and  has  loved  the  arts 
of  peace  more  than  the  weapons  of  war.  The  words  of 
a Chinese  professor,  quoted  by  Robert  W.  Wilder,  are 
worth  pondering : “ China  seems  to  be  at  the  parting 
of  the  ways.  Shall  she  choose  materialism  or  Christ? 
. . . China  is  today  in  pressing  need  of  men,  men  who 
are  willing  to  sacrifice  their  lives  for  a good  cause. 
China  needs  a true  religion  that  teaches  men  to  honor 
the  Supreme  Intellect,  and  to  minister,  but  not  to  be; 
ministered  unto.  . . . The  men  who  possess  the  quali-/ 
fications  to  minister  can  only  be  found  in  the  schooj 
of  Christ.”  And,  we  might  add,  none  possess  greatet 


1 The  fear  that,  under  the  recent  regulations  of  the  Government 
General,  physicians  of  foreign  countries  might  be  shut  out  of  Korea 
has  proven  to  be  unfounded.  The  Government  has  merely  enacted 
that  physicians  coming  from  countries  which  have  not  arranged  for 
medical  reciprocity  with  Japan  shall  pass  an  examination  in  Japan 
before  receiving  a licence  to  practise  as  Japanese  physicians  would 
have  to  do  in  going  to  those  countries.  The  examinations  are  given 
at  Tokyo  in  English, 


172  MEDICAL  MISSIONS:  THE  TWOFOLD  TASK 


qualifications  of  this  sort  than  the  Christian  doctor 
who  has  studied  at  the  feet  of  the  Great  Physician. 

We  have  spoken  in  a previous  chapter  of  the  physi- 
cal suffering  and  handicap  in  China.  Her  native  re- 
sources to  meet  the  situation  are  very  meagre.  The 
quack  doctor  and  the  fortune  teller  reap  a rich  harvest. 
The  fortune  teller  like  his  confrere,  desires  to  profit 
at  the  expense  of  his  too  trustful  patron.  He  does 
not  aspire  to  be  a physician,  but  he  dabbles  in  medicine 
and  magic.  One  such  sat  in  his  little  tent  near  our 
front  gate  in  Shanghai  for  several  years.  A wise  look, 
a heavy  mustache  and  long  beard,  giving  him  the  ap- 
pearance of  a modern  Confucius,  a few  scrolls  hung 
at  his  back  with  proverbial  sayings,  a family  pedigree 
as  long  as  his  arm,  a little  camp  table  in  front  of  his 
chair,  with  a piece  of  polished  tin  on  which  he  wrote 
with  India  ink  and  a camel  hair  brush,  a few  tiger’s 
bones  and  tiny  bundles  of  herbs — these  were  his  outfit. 
Several  dozen  closely  rolled  slips  of  paper,  the  size 
of  a cigarette,  were  kept  in  an  open  box  by  the  side  of 
his  writing  pad.  A lucky  number  found  on  the  roll 
by  the  patient,  a sentence  written  by  the  wiseacre  on 
the  sheet  of  tin,  followed  by  sage  advice  as  to  the 
origin  of  the  patient’s  toothache,  rheumatism,  fever 
or  bad  luck,  with  directions  as  to  the  best  procedure, 
always  seemed  to  satisfy  the  simple-hearted  victim, 
whether  peasant  from  the  country,  or  resident  of  the 
city.  They  got  the  experience,  he  got  the  money. 

Lest  we  should  be  undully  exalted  over  the  achieve- 
ments of  western  civilization  as  compared  with  some 
of  the  crude  theories  of  non-Christian  lands,  we  may 
digress  for  a moment  to  remind  ourselves  of  the  ab- 
surd practices  which  were  in  vogue  in  Europe  at  a 
comparatively  recent  date.  Mayerne,  who  was  the 
most  prominent  doctor  of  his  day,  wrote  a treatise  on 
gout,  and  had  for  his  patients  two  French  and  three 


THE  CHALLENGE 


173 


English  sovereigns.  He  was  given  to  prescribing  pul- 
verized human  bones,  and  the  principal  ingredient  in 
his  gout-pad  was  “ raspings  of  a human  skull  un- 
buried.” Balsam  of  bats  he  strongly  recommended  for 
hypochondriacs.  It  was  composed  of  “ adders,  bats, 
sucking  whelps,  earth  worms,  hog’s  grease,  the  marrow 
of  a stag  and  the  thigh  bone  of  an  ox.” 

William  Bulleyn,  an  eminent  physician  of  the  Eliza- 
bethan era,  received  his  preliminary  education  at  Cam- 
bridge University  and  “ enlarged  his  mind  by  extended 
travel,  spending  much  time  in  Germany  and  Scotland.” 
He  left  the  following  remedy  for  a nervous  malady  in 
a child,  “ a small  young  mouse  roasted.”  One  would 
hardly  recommend  such  heroic  treatment,  but  the 
famous  Desault  secured  excellent  results  with  a young 
patient  by  using  “ club  tincture.”  In  England  as  well 
as  in  France,  in  the  early  days  of  medical  practice,  the 
doctor’s  cane  was  occasionally  employed  for  physical 
infirmities  as  well  as  moral  failings,  and  a beating  was 
prescribed  for  ague  as  well  as  for  stealing.  “Antinius 
Musa,  one  of  the  ancients,  employed  this  remedy  to 
cure  Octavious  Augustus  of  sciatica,  and  Gordonius 
prescribed  it  in  certain  cases  of  nervous  irritability — • 
‘si  sit  juvenus,  et  non  vult  obedire,  flagellitur  fre- 
quenter et  fortiter.’”  A Chinese  mother  brought  her 
son  to  me  one  day  with  the  request  that  he  be  given  a 
beating.  She  knew  nothing  about  the  practice  of  the 
Romans,  but  had  evidently  reached  the  same  conclu- 
sion and  was  prepared  to  go  in  for  heroic  measures. 
Upon  asking  her  the  trouble  she  replied,  “ Elis  heart 
is  turned  to  one  side ; he  no  longer  obeys  me.  A sound 
thrashing  might  turn  it  back.”  Ele  got  his  thrashing 
and  improved  at  once. 

There  before  us,  wide  open  to  our  ministries  of 
healing  and  physical  reconstruction,  lies  China,  with 
one  quarter  of  the  human  family  acutely  suffering  and 


174  MEDICAL  MISSIONS:  THE  TWOFOLD  TASK 


pitifully  limited  in  her  physical  life.  Children  need  a 
fighting  chance,  lives  need  prolonging,  agonies  need 
relief,  communities  need  wholesome  conditions.  And 
whereas  in  the  United  States  and  Canada  we  have  a 
qualified  physician  for  every  625  of  the  population, 
the  number  of  medical  missionaries  in  China  (1917) 
is  but  one  to  every  644,760. ^ 

India  is  a challenge  to  devoted  efifort  and  to  Chris- 
tian statesmanship.  The  triple  problem  of  impotent 
religion,  of  inexorable  caste,  and  of  grinding  poverty 
is  there.  While  both  extremes  of  society  and  of  in- 
tellectual life  are  to  be  held  steadily  in  view,  it  is  not 
so  much  from  the  top  as  from  the  bottom,  where 
myriads  of  ignorant,  diseased  and  poverty  stricken 
human  beings  are  to  be  found,  that  the  redemption  of 
the  individual  and  of  the  nation  must  begin  and  be 
carried  forward.  It  has  ever  been  thus. 

Mr.  Sherwood  Eddy  remarks,  in  “ India  Awaken- 
ing,” that  “ the  most  powerful  apologetic  in  India  will 
not  be  a few  converted  Brahmins  nor  the  arguments 
of  the  missionary,  but  the  mighty  uplift  of  whole  com- 
munities, once  debased  and  degraded,  for  whom  Hin- 
duism has  no  message,  and  who  were  without  hope  and 
without  God  in  the  world.’1  Is  Christianity  equal  to 
the  task?  It  is  not  only  hypothetically  or  potentially 
able  to  do  the  work;  it  is  actually  doing  it  through  the 
gospel,  social  service,  primary  schools  and  a system  of 
hospitals  and  dispensaries  which  is  carrying  medical 
relief  to  millions. 

Mr.  Eddy  tells  of  the  lowest  human  being  he  had 
ever  seen — a pariah  who  could  count  up  to  ten,  pain- 
fully and  slowly,  if  he  could  look  at  his  ten  fingers  or 
toes,  but  not  beyond  it.  When  asked  how  many 
children  he  had,  he  scratched  his  head  and  replied  with 
some  hesitation  that  he  had  twelve.  His  wife  said  they 
had  ten,  the  missionary  estimated  the  number  at  eleven. 


THE  CHALLENGE 


175 


“ That  man  has  three  sons  in  college,”  adds  Mr.  Eddy, 
“ one  who  will  go  out  as  a preacher,  one  perchance  as 
a Christian  doctor,  and  one  perhaps  in  the  government 
employ  to  compete  with  the  Brahmin  who  has  had  a 
monopoly  of  culture  and  religion  for  more  than  a 
thousand  years  — ‘It  is  not  yet  made  manifest  what 
they  shall  be.’  ” Is  there  a young  Christian  doctor, 
man  or  woman,  at  liberty  to  do  so,  who  would  hesitate 
to  share  with  Christ  and  the  missionary  body  in  India 
in  the  miracle  working  task  of  transforming  the  “ fifty 
million  untouchable  outcastes,”  yet  unreached,  into  the 
foundation  stones  of  the  Church  that  is  to  be  in  India  ? 

Sir  Andrew  Fraser,  in  his  introduction  to  “ The 
Appeal  of  Medical  Missions,”  writes,  “ I desire  to  give 
my  strongest  testimony — the  testimony  of  a man  whose 
experience  gives  him  a claim  to  be  heard — in  favor  of 
the  urgency  of  the  call  made  on  the  churches  at  home 
for  medical  missionaries.”  Thirty-seven  years  of  dis- 
tinguished service  under  the  Crown,  in  India,  entitles 
this  eminent  Christian  statesman  to  speak  with  author- 
ity. In  the  presentation  of  the  need  of  medical  mis- 
sions, Dr.  Moorshead  brings  out  the  fact  that  while 
the  Indian  Government  has  put  forth  generous  and 
praiseworthy  efforts  to  reach  the  people  in  densely 
populated  village  areas,  it  was  estimated  some  years 
ago  by  Sir  William  Moor  that,  “ not  five  per  cent  of 
the  population  is  reached  by  the  present  system  of 
medical  aid.”1  He  quotes  Dr.  W.  J.  Wanless’  state- 
ment in  the  International  Review  of  Missions,  that 
6,000  die  annually  in  Calcutta,  the  largest  medical  cen- 
ter in  India,  without  competent  medical  aid.  As  for 
those  dying  in  the  outlying  villages  in  India,  Dr.  Wan- 
less  estimates  that  98  out  of  every  100  die  unattended 
in  their  last  illness  by  an  educated  physician. 


1 R.  F.  Moorrtiead,  “ The  Appeal  of  Medical  Missions,”  p.  59. 


176  MEDICAL  MISSIONS:  THE  TWOFOLD  TASK 


It  is  estimated  that  during  the  past  twenty-two  years 
between  eight  and  ten  millions  of  people  have  died  of 
plague  in  India.  One  of  the  chief  obstacles  in  com- 
bating this  terrible  scourge  is  religious  prejudice,  for 
Hinduism  refuses  to  destroy  the  rats,  the  carriers  of 
the  disease. 

Medical  missionaries  are  needed  for  every  part  of 
Africa,  and  especially  those  who  will  volunteer  for  a 
plunge  into  the  remote  interior.  They  must  be  mis- 
sionaries who  can  drive  an  entering  wedge  with  master 
strokes  into  that  dark  mass  of  heathenism  that  the 
light  of  civilization  and  of  the  gospel  may  filter 
through.  Aside  from  remoteness  and  isolation  these 
districts  are  not  objectionable.  They  are  more  healthy, 
as  a rule,  than  the  coast,  and  the  people  more  open  to 
approach.  Missionary  effort  in  the  past  has  been  too 
much  confined  to  the  rim  of  the  continent.  There  has 
been  a dearth  of  doctors  in  the  hinterland.  It  might 
have  been  necessary  fifty  years  ago  to  cling  to  the 
fringes  of  Africa,  but  the  way  is  now  open  along  a 
thousand  trails  and  all  the  great  rivers  to  reach  villages 
and  tribes  hitherto  inaccessible. 

The  call  is  urgent  for  a large  force  of  medical  mis- 
sionaries at  once.  The  need  is  more  than  urgent — it 
is  desperate.  One  hundred  doctors  would  not  meet 
the  present  demand.  One  thousand  would  not  meet 
the  need.  Are  they  forthcoming?  France,  “bled 
white,”  sent  eighty  doctors  to  the  aid  of  Roumania,  to 
minister  to  her  wounded  and  to  fight  the  dreaded 
typhus ; and  she  gave  one  thousand  of  her  officers  to 
train  the  soldiers  of  her  ally.  What  would  the  going 
forth  of  one  hundred  medical  missionaries  for  Africa 
mean  for  all  Christendom  with  its  hosts  of  young  men 
and  women?  They  could  easily  be  spared.  But  what 
would  they  mean  for  Africa?  We  need  to  adopt  an 
initiative  which  will  carry  our  standards  into  the  re- 


I 


- 


• ' -N 

- ' >• 

i •.  v- 


An  American  Missionary  Doctor  and  IIis  African  Competitor 


THE  CHALLENGE 


177 


cesses  of  the  forests,  along  the  rivers,  out  into  the  open 
veldts  and  on  to  the  spreading  table  lands  of  Angola 
and  the  southern  Belgian  Congo,  on  the  one  hand,  and, 
on  the  other,  to  the  mid-continental  area  where  the  peo- 
ple have  never  heard  of  Christ,  have  never  been  healed 
of  their  sicknesses  of  body  or  soul.  In  the  absence  of 
qualified  physicians,  trained  nurses  here  and  there  have 
been  compelled  from  sheer  necessity  to  hold  the 
ground.  One  of  these,  Miss  E.  M.  Fair  of  the 
Southern  Presbyterian  Church,  we  found  at  mission 
headquarters  at  Luebo,  treating  the  sick,  binding  up 
the  wounded  from  a recent  village  fight,  and  having- 
oversight  of  the  health  of  the  missionaries  during  the 
enforced  absence  of  the  station  doctor.  Invaluable? 
Such  women  are  simply  indispensable.  Yet  for  most 
of  the  people  of  Africa  there  is  not  available  even  the 
help  of  a nurse. 

At  the  present  time  there  is  no  more  urgent  demand 
from  any  field  for  medical  missionaries,  unless  it  be 
from  Syria  and  Armenia.  In  British  East  Africa,  a 
number  of  large  tribes  without  a missionary  are  re- 
ported and  forty  workers  are  required.  In  German  East 
Africa,  there  is  an  immense  district  with  an  insistent 
call  for  fifty  missionaries,  and  at  least  one  in  ten 
should  be  medical.  To  the  northwest  of  Lake  Albert, 
in  the  Welle  district  of  the  Belgian  Congo,  a report 
comes  through  the  Africa  Inland  Mission  of  “ one 
tribe  alone,  the  Azandi,  thought  to  number  nearly  five 
millions  of  people.  Access  to  all  of  these  districts  is 
reasonably  convenient.  Large  ocean  steamers  stop  at 
Mombasa.  The  Uganda  railway  runs  from  there  to 
port  Florence  on  Lake  Victoria.  Motor  roads  are 
being  built  in  the  interior;  and  the  great,  almost  un- 
touched part  of  Africa  with  its  perishing  millions  is 
at  our  door.”1 


1 Student  Volunteer  Movement  Bulletin,  January,  1916,  p.  41. 


178  MEDICAL  MISSIONS:  THE  TWOFOLD  TASK 


So  we  might  pass  in  review  the  Mohammedan 
countries  and  all  the  other  sections  of  the  non-Chris- 
tian world,  and  especially  the  unoccupied  mission 
fields,  finding  in  each  one  a burning  challenge  for 
medical  missionary  work. 

If  in  any  survey  we  may  make  of  various  fields  we 
can  hear  the  call  of  suffering  human  life,  we  cannot 
fail  to  catch  in  it  the  special  cry  of  womanhood.  The 
condition  of  woman  in  all  non-Christian  lands  consti- 
tutes a powerful  appeal  as  well  as  a challenge  to  the 
women  of  Christendom.  In  point  of  need,  their  con- 
dition in  the  twentieth  century  does  not  differ  ma- 
terially from  that  of  the  first.  Dynasties  rise  and  fall, 
civilizations  flourish  and  decay,  but  humanity  remains 
the  same.  It  has  its  perennial  needs,  its  sicknesses,  its 
sorrows,  and,  at  the  root  of  all,  its  sins.  Disease  roots 
itself  in  the  tenderest  organs  of  the  body,  while  sin 
strikes  its  fangs  into  the  deepest  tissues  of  the  soul, 
injects  and  leaves  its  virus  there.  The  women  of  non- 
Christian  lands  bear  the  cumulative  ills  of  flesh — the 
unrelieved  anguish  of  childbirth,  the  awful  sense  of 
loneliness  and  neglect,  and  too  often  the  consciousness 
of  suspicion  and  hate  instead  of  tender,  watchful  love. 

There  is  an  indescribably  pathetic  touch  in  what 
occurred  in  China  during  the  Anti-Opium  Crusade  in 
connection  with  a petition  to  the  Throne.  “After  the 
demi-monde  had  heard  of  the  movement,  they  wrote 
an  appeal  asking  that  their  names  be  sent — not  in  the 
same  list — they  could  not  ask  for  that,  but  in  a sep- 
arate list,  saying  that  most  of  them  had  been  sold  into 
this  life  of  shame  by  opium  smoking  fathers,  or 
brothers,  or  husbands,  saying  also:  ‘We  are  in  a 
shoreless  sea.  There  is  no  possibility  of  helping  us, 
but  it  may  save  others  from  a similar  fate.  There  are 
those  who  think  we  are  flippant  and  enjoy  this  life. 
They  do  not  know  how  often  we  must  smile  upon 


THE  CHALLENGE 


179 


guests  we  despise.  We  beat  our  breasts  and  cry 
aloud,  but  there  is  no  help  for  us.  We  feared  to 
write  this  lest  it  should  soil  your  eyes.’  ”1 

It  was  the  Christ  who  had  compassion  upon  a poor 
wretched  woman  whom  others  would  have  stoned,  it 
was  He  who  never  turned  his  back  upon  one  who 
sought  to  be  healed,  and  through  his  ministry  the 
world  has  discovered  the  grace,  the  loyalty  and  the 
power  of  love  in  all  true  womanhood.  Wipe  out  at 
one  stroke  our  Christian  homes  and  hospitals,  our 
physicians  and  nurses,  our  maternity  wards  and  in- 
firmaries, our  ether  and  cocaine,  the  tender  care  of 
husband  and  friend,  and  our  civilization  would  suffer 
an  immediate  eclipse.  But  dark  as  this  would  be,  the 
condition  of  the  non-Christian  land  is  darker  still. 
At  the  beginning  of  life  we  have  the  Arabian  proverb, 
“ The  threshold  weeps  forty  days,  whenever  a girl 
baby  is  born”;  and  near  the  end  of  life  the  reply  of 
a man  in  India  when  an  operation  was  proposed  to 
save  his  wife:  “Better  let  her  die  than  see  a man; 
it  is  easy  enough  to  get  another  wife.” 

The  physical  needs  of  womanhood  run  throughout 
all  non-Christian  lands  and  on  all  levels  of  society. 
The  pariah  in  India  has  no  monopoly  of  suffering  and 
neglect.  Miss  Irene  H.  Barnes  tells  of  an  Indian 
princess  of  the  highest  caste  who  was  approaching 
her  confinement.2  Isolated  from  the  family,  she  was 
thrust  into  a thatched  hut  about  six  feet  square,  with 
mud  floor,  and  almost  unbearable  heat  from  the  fire 
burning  day  and  night  to  keep  out  evil  spirits.  “ I 
screamed  for  help,”  she  afterwards  told,  “ but  no  one 
would  come  near  me.  I lay  on  the  damp  clay  with  an 
old  mat  under  me  and  except  for  some  water  thrown 
on  the  floor  to  wash  it  by  the  nurse,  an  old  woman, 


1 Mrs.  Chauncey  Goodrich  in  China’s  New  Day,  p.  64. 

2 “ Between  Life  and  Death.” 


180  MEDICAL  MISSIONS:  THE  TWOFOLD  TASK 


nothing  was  done  for  me.  Through  her  carelessness; 
I was  at  death’s  door.  Oh,  how  I did  cry  to  the  one 
great  God  to  hear  me,  to  save  me.  With  all  my 
strength  I called  on  Him  and  He  did  answer  me  and 
I knew  there  was  a God.” 

At  the  other  extreme  of  life  is  an  incident  given 
by  Dr.  Cochran  when  commenting  upon  the  high  death 
rate  in  Persia,  especially  among  children.  A woman, 
very  poor,  came  from  a distance,  leaving  her  husband 
and  three  small  children  sick,  and  in  a pitiable  con- 
dition. “ The  morning  she  left  she  covered  the  chil- 
dren in  the  stable  with  the  dried  manure  used  to  bed 
the  animals,  and  came  away,  as  she  expressed  it,  with 
‘ only  heaven  above  them,  hell  under  them,  and  their 
stomachs  empty.’  ” With  such  conditions  it  would 
seem  as  though  every  young  woman  in  Christian  lands, 
if  free  to  go  and  not  disqualified  for  such  work,  would 
volunteer  for  service.  But  the  Woman’s  Boards  have 
had  the  greatest  difficulty  in  securing  physicians  and 
nurses,  and  the  force  on  all  these  fields  falls  far  short 
of  the  demand. 

As  if  to  cover  the  reproach  of  delay  and  neglect 
upon  the  part  of  their  sisters  in  the  West,  the  women 
of  the  Orient  are  themselves  beginning  to  respond. 
We  have  already  referred  to  the  able  Chinese  women 
at  the  head  of  large  hospitals.  In  Japan  they  are 
taking  an  active  part  in  social  and  reform  movements, 
and  in  India  they  are  studying  medicine  and  are  as- 
suming their  share  of  war  relief  which  bids  fair  to 
initiate  a new  stage  of  development.  Just  as  the  war 
broke  out,  the  Turkish  government  was  beginning  to 
send  women  abroad  for  study — two  hundred  of  them 
being  destined  to  enter  institutions  in  Switzerland. 
For  the  first  time,  a Moslem  woman  had  been  per- 
mitted to  qualify  as  a lawyer  in  Petrograd ; a number 
were  attending  the  universities  there,  and  some  were 


THE  CHALLENGE 


181 


already  practicing  medicine.1  At  the  same  time  the 
higher  education  of  women  was  being  promoted  under 
the  patronage  of  the  mother  of  the  Khedive  of  Egypt, 
and  special  lectures  for  them  were  being  delivered  in 
the  Universitie  Egyptienne. 

We  hear  the  challenge  from  all  the  mission  fields. 
Where  are  the  men?  Who  are  the  women?  Is  there 
a slacker  in  all  our  ranks?  Not  if  the  spirit  of  the 
soldiers  who  went  to  the  front,  ready  to  lay  down  their 
lives,  is  the  spirit  of  the  modern  Church.  If  it  is  not, 
then  the  Church  must  reform  or  decay.  It  is  not  then 
so  much  a question  of  the  non-Christian  world  perish- 
ing without  the  gospel,  as  it  is  a question  of  our  sur- 
vival if  we  fail  to  give  them  the  gospel.  “If  thou 
forbear  to  deliver  them  that  are  drawn  unto  death, 
and  those  that  are  ready  to  be  slain ; if  thou  sayest, 
Behold  we  knew  it  not ; doth  not  He  that  pondereth 
the  heart  consider  it?  And  He  that  keepeth  thy  soul, 
doth  not  he  know  it?  And  shall  He  not  render  to 
every  man  according  to  his  works  ? ”2  Who  will  go  ? 

III.  The  Challenge  of  Pressing  Problems 

In  a work  of  such  proportions  there  are  bound  to 
be  many  difficult  problems.  Before  closing  the  chapter 
let  us  consider  some  which  now  challenge  earnest  and 
expert  attention. 

1.  There  is  a challenge  at  the  home  base  which  is 
second  only  to  that  on  the  field.  An  apathetic  Church 
is  to  be  aroused  from  its  indifference,  slackness  of 
zeal,  and  poverty  of  faith.  A missionary  conscience 
must  be  quickened,  if  not  actually  created;  enthusiasm 
generated,  mission  study  promoted,  volunteers  secured, 
candidates  qualified,  the  work  financed  and  the  spirit 
of  intercession  fostered. 


1 International  Review  of  Missions,  January,  1915,  p.  39. 

2 Proverbs  24  :i  1-12. 


1 82  MEDICAL  MISSIONS:  THE  TWOFOLD  TASK 


2.  Turing  from  the  home  base  to  the  mission  field,1 
we  are  faced  by  the  problem  of  inadequate  equipment. 
While  rigid  economy  should  be  practiced  at  the  home 
base  by  the  Boards,  and  on  the  field  by  the  mission- 
aries, there  are  limitations  in  equipment  which  may 
mean  superficial  work,  patients  slighted,  the  doctor 
disheartened,  medical  science  brought  into  disrepute 
and  Christianity  cheapened.  It  were  better  to  reduce 
the  number  of  medical  missionaries  and  hospitals, 
much  as  they  are  needed,  than  to  discount  the 
science  of  medicine  and  lower  the  standards  of  effi- 
ciency. In  the  presentation  of  any  phase  of  Chris- 
tianity, the  highest  standards  must  be  maintained,  and 
honest,  thoroughgoing  methods  characterize  the  work 
in  every  department.  To  do  less,  is  to  write  ultimate 
failure  across  the  face  of  the  enterprise. 

3.  An  inadequate  staff  is  as  serious  a limitation  as 
inadequate  equipment.  The  findings  of  the  Medical 
Missionary  Association  of  India  urge  the  necessity 
of  two  qualified  doctors  on  the  staff  of  every  medical 
mission  station,  in  order  that  furlough  or  illness  shall 
not  break  the  continuity  of  the  work  and  that  in  per- 
forming serious  operations  consultation  shall  be  had 
and  responsibility  shared.  In  regard  to  wastage  of 
evangelistic  opportunity.  Dr.  Moorshead  refers  to  a 
brochure  of  Dr.  Harold  Balme  of  China,  in  which  he 
urges  that  the  mission  hospital  be  so  staffed  as  to 
permit  the  medical  missionaries  in  turn  to  spend  a 
portion  of  the  day  in  personal  work  among  the  patients, 
and  that  there  should  be,  if  possible,  one  non-medical 

1 Dr.  Moorshead  sums  up  the  possibility  of  failure  of  medical  missions 
under  six  heads:  “ Insufficiency  of  the  medical  and  nursing  staff;  in- 

adequacy of  medical  plant;  wastage  of  evangelistic  opportunities; 
opening  too  many  medical  stations;  designating  new  medical  missionaries 
to  responsible  positions;  and  sending  out  new  medical  missionaries 
without  a sufficient  amount  of  post  graduate  work.” — [R.  F.  Moorshead, 
“The  Appeal  of  Medical  Missions,”  p.  160.I  He  would  avoid  making 
the  impression  that  there  has  been  failure,  but  is  rightly  opposed  to 
inferior  work  and  argues  for  the  best  professional  results  possible. 


THE  CHALLENGE 


183 


missionary  on  the  staff  whose  entire  time  could  be 
given  to  evangelistic  work.  Reference  is  made  to  a 
missionary  in  India  who,  in  the  follow-up  of  his  sister’s 
medical  work,  had  in  seventeen  years  secured  a foot- 
ing in  one  hundred  villages  and  baptized  more  than 
three  thousand  converts. 

4.  Another  problem  relates  to  the  use  of  the  time 
and  energy  of  the  medical  missionary  on  furlough. 
On  the  one  hand,  opportunity  should  be  furnished 
him  for  rest,  for  study  and  for  visits  to  hospitals. 
On  the  other  hand,  his  services  should  be  utilized  to 
stimulate  the  missionary  interest  of  the  public.  He 
can  render  invaluable  service  by  furnishing  occasional 
articles  to  the  medical  journals,  to  the  missionary 
magazines  and  denominational  papers,  presenting  per- 
sonal experiences,  difficulties,  successes,  the  needs  of  the 
people  to  whom  he  has  been  ministering  and  the  power 
of  the  gospel  to  meet  that  need.  He  can  go  further 
by  making  a systematic  effort  to  reach  the  medical 
constituency  of  his  church  — a great  reserve  force 
as  yet  undeveloped.  This  may  be  done  through  corre- 
spondence and  personal  visits  in  the  homes  of  Christian 
medical  men  and  women,  by  delivering  addresses  be- 
fore medical  societies  and  colleges,  by  visiting  Volun- 
teer Rands  and  by  attending  student  conferences  where 
personal  work  can  be  done  in  counseling  with  students 
in  the  determining  of  their  life  work.  The  returned 
medical  missionary,  moreover,  ought  to  be  able  to 
do  more  than  any  other  in  enlisting  liberal  givers  in 
the  support  of  individual  missionaries  or  nurses,  and 
in  the  maintenance  of  beds  or  wards  and  the  erection 
of  hospitals,  where  the  Boards  have  authorized  such 
efforts. 

5.  The  problem  of  cooperation  is  ever  present  in 
missionary  administration.  Medical  Missionary  As 
sociations  upon  the  larger  fields  are  recommending 


184  MEDICAL  MISSIONS : THE  TWOFOLD  TASK 


close  cooperation  by  the  Boards,  especially  in  medical 
education  on  the  field  and  in  the  preparation  of  much 
needed  textbooks  in  the  development  of  a medical 
literature.  Dr.  Robert  C.  Beebe,  as  executive  secretary 
of  the  China  Medical  Missionary  Association,  is  de- 
voting his  entire  time  to  the  work  of  coordinating 
educational  work  carried  on  at  different  centers,  to 
securing  help  from  the  Boards,  missionary  and  finan- 
cial, to  the  development  of  a literature,  and  to  aiding 
the  campaign  on  behalf  of  public  health  carried  on 
by  Dr.  W.  W.  Peter  and  his  staff  under  the  auspices 
of  the  Y.  M.  C.  A.  A beginning  was  made  by  the 
earlier  medical  missionaries,  but  they  were  hampered 
by  insufficient  knowledge  of  the  written  language  and 
by  the  lack  of  dictionaries  and  of  a technical  and 
scientific  terminology.  It  is  very  important  that  a 
literature  should  be  developed  under  Christian  aus- 
pices, thus  preempting  the  ground  from  that  prepared 
from  a grossly  materialistic  standpoint. 

6.  A most  pressing  problem  is  that  of  missionary 
medical  education.  On  all  the  mission  fields,  but 
especially  in  China,  this  branch  of  education  requires 
to  be  considered  in  the  light  of  the  scientific  demands 
of  our  age,  and  in  view  of  the  establishment  of  com- 
peting government  institutions.  In  the  case  of  China, 
there  is  the  added  factor  of  the  insidious  agnostic 
and  even  atheistic  influences  from  Japan  where  such 
ideas  are  rife  in  the  medical  departments  of  her  uni- 
versities. This  is  the  more  significant  in  view  of 
Japan’s  absorption  of  Korea  and  her  foothold  upon 
the  continent.  Dr.  Thomas  Cochran,  in  a recent  article, 
calls  attention  to  the  Japanese  medical  college  in 
Moukden,  established  by  the  South  Manchurian  Rail- 
way Company.  “ They  have  an  ample  staff,  and 
perhaps  the  best  building  and  equipment  of  any  school 
in  Giina.  The  teaching  is  in  Japanese.” 


THE  CHALLENGE 


185 

The  visit  in  1914  of  the  Commissioners  representing 
the  Rockefeller  Foundation,  and  the  subsequent  estab- 
lishment of  the  China  Medical  Board,  with  the  pur- 
pose of  promoting  medical  education  bids  fair  to  cre- 
ate a new  era  in  scientific  education  and  in  research 
work.  The  decision  to  establish  two  medical  centers, 
the  one  at  Peking  and  the  other  at  Shanghai,  will  lay 
a base  line  along  the  coast  from  which  other  centers 
may  be  established  at  a later  date  under  the  auspices 
of  the  Foundation,  through  missionary  initiative  or 
as  government  enterprises.  The  article  by  Dr.  Cochran 
speaks  of  the  inevitable  conclusion  that  there  has  been 
“ a very  real  danger  of  a sacrifice  of  scientific  effi- 
ciency in  the  diffusion  of  effort  which  characterizes 
the  work  of  missionary  societies.”  Dr.  McDill  of 
Chicago  in  his  discussion  of  missionary  medical  work, 
while  giving  the  missionaries  themselves  a high  meed 
of  praise  for  their  efficiency  and  self-sacrifice,  reached 
the  same  conclusion  — that  much  of  the  medical  edu- 
cational work  as  conducted  under  the  auspices  of  the 
Missionary  Boards  is  inefficient  and  therefore  unsatis- 
factory. 

The  Commisioners  referred  to  are  quoted  as  saying 
in  effect  to  missionary  educators,  “ We  are  thinking 
of  the  interests  of  China  as  a whole  and  are  viewing 
the  situation  dispassionately.  We  are  determined  to 
secure  efficiency  if  it  should  cost  us  millions.  Will 
you  join  us  and  make  a happy  combination,  and  be 
as  keen  on  Christianity  as  we  are  on  medical  science?  ” 
What  is  this  but  a tremendous  challenge  to  the  most 
virile  young  men  and  women  we  have  at  the  home 
base  and  on  the  mission  field,  to  get  into  the  game? 
The  Foundation  has  the  financial  resources  with  which 
to  do  in  laboratory,  class  room,  and  hospital  what  no 
one  Board,  nor  half  a dozen  Boards  with  their  other 
obligations,  could  possibly  do.  The  institutions  to  be 


1 86  MEDICAL  MISSIONS:  THE  TWOFOLD  TASK 


established  at  the  two  centers  already  fixed  upon  must 
be  adequately  staffed.  Scientifically  qualified  men  are 
required,  but  Christian  men  of  equal  qualifications 
are  preferred.  Let  men  offer  for  such  service,  secure 
the  best  preparation  there  is  to  be  had,  and,  going 
to  the  field,  throw  the  weight  of  their  education,  ex- 
perience and  personal  influence  into  the  effort  to  train 
a body  of  Chinese  physicians  and  surgeons  who  can 
in  turn  not  only  man  mission  and  government  hos- 
pitals, but  become  the  influential  factors  for  moral 
purity  and  religious  life  in  the  institutions  of  the 
country. 

There  is  a great  cause  at  stake  here  — namely  the 
efficiency  and  character  of  medical  education  and  of 
the  profession  itself  in  China.  If  inefficient,  it  will  be 
worthless;  if  non-Christian,  it  will  bring  a blight  upon 
physicians  and  patients  alike  for  generations  to  come. 
Dr.  Thomas  Cochran  is  correct  in  saying  that  “ Medi- 
cal missionary  enterprise  has  earned  China’s  undying 
gratitude.  The  young  profession  there  is  largely  either 
Christian  or  favorably  disposed  to  Christianity.”  It 
rests  with  Boards  at  home  and  missionaries  on  the 
field  to  see  that  this  continues. 

It  behooves  all  concerned,  therefore,  to  sink  individ- 
ual differences  and  urge  common  interests  so  as  to 
agree  upon  the  following  as  a working  basis : 

(1)  Coordination  of  larger  educational  policies  and 
plans  so  as  to  promote  that  unity  in  spirit  and  effort 
which  will  best  secure  the  one  great  aim  for  which 
missionary  work  is  undertaken.  Such  plans  should  not 
be  laid  for  a decade,  but  projected  for  a century. 

(2)  Concentration  upon  three  great  centers  on  the 
coast,  and  at  least  one  in  the  interior.  Geographically, 
China  lends  itself  to  such  a distribution.  To  do  less 
is  to  fail  to  capture  the  strategic  points  and  make 
them  distributing  centers  of  medical  educational  in- 


THE  CHALLENGE 


187 


fluence.  To  undertake  to  occupy  more  than  these  at 
present  will  be  to  repeat  the  blunders  of  the  past. 

(3)  Team  work  upon  the  part  of  the  representatives 
of  the  various  Boards  and  Societies  through  the  Medi- 
cal Missionary  Association,  and  also  with  the  growing 
body  of  qualified  Chinese  practitioners  through  the 
China  National  Medical  Association.  Generous  and 
sympatheteic  cooperation  will  create  a sense  of  brother- 
hood, give  push  to  the  entire  movement,  and  help  to 
generate  an  esprit  de  corps. 

(4)  High  professional  standards  must  always  be 
held  steadily  in  view.  Low  grade  medical  work  is  un- 
worthy of  the  man  from  home  and  equally  discredit- 
able to  the  native  practitioner  who  qualifies  on  the 
field.  Shoddy,  inefficient  work  is  dishonest  work  and 
should  not  be  tolerated  by  a Mission  Board  or  in  any 
Mission  Hospital  or  School. 

(5)  The  generous  offer  made  by  the  China  Medical 
Board  of  the  Rockefeller  Foundation,  to  finance  and 
increase  the  staff  and  equipment  of  mission  hospitals 
which  correlate  themselves  with  the  medical  schools 
established  by  the  Foundation,  should  be  accepted, 
since  such  acceptance  does  not  in  any  way  divert  from, 
or  interfere  with,  the  one  purpose  for  which  medical 
missions  is  established — healing  the  sick  and  extending 
the  Kingdom  of  God. 

There  is  no  greater  challenge  before  the  Church 
today  than  the  challenge  to  a generous  expansion  of 
her  medical  missionary  work.  The  work  of  medical 
missions,  like  all  Christian  work,  is  a challenge  to 
faith.  There  can  be  no  mighty  work  built  upon  the 
quicksands  of  unbelief.  There  has  never  been  a truly 
successful  medical  missionary  — man  or  woman  — 
who  has  not  been  great  in  prayer  and  faith.  All  of 
preparation,  all  of  scientific  equipment,  and  all  of 
human  skill  will  fail  in  the  hour  of  crisis  if  the  element 


1S8  MEDICAL  MISSIONS:  THE  TWOFOLD  TASK 


of  faith  be  lacking.  Then  in  the  highest  reaches  of 
achievement,  just  as  the  human  will  must  be  lifted  up 
into  the  divine,  man’s  faith  must  be  conjoined  with  and 
merged  into  the  faith  of  the  son  of  God.  This  is  a 
great  truth  and  a great  mystery,  but  it  is  God’s  way, 
and  His  ways  are  higher  than  ours.  The  medical 
missionary  who  goes  in  the  strength  of  the  faith  of 
the  Son  of  God,  goes  with  power,  for  the  Master 
Workman  has  said,  “ Greater  works  than  these  shall 
ye  do  because  I go  unto  the  Father.”  A God-sent  man 
does  not  do  his  work  alone. 

The  work  of  medical  missions  is  also  a challenge 
to  love.  Love,  let  us  repeat,  is  the  great  missionary 
motive.  To  float  the  great  cause  of  missions,  the 

motive  must  be  big  enough  not  only  to  prompt  our 
ministry  to  the  individual,  to  compass  a nation  with 
our  high  purpose,  but  to  include  a world  in  its  terms 
of  sacrificial  and  Christly  love.  It  must  be  centripetal 
as  well  as  centrifugal.  In  the  effort  to  get  in  touch 
with  the  lowliest  and  the  neediest  man,  it  must  find 
its  spring  and  inspiration  in  the  touch  of  the  risen 
Christ. 

The  writer  never  fully  realized  the  true  significance 
of  missionary  motive  until  he  reached  the  mission  field. 
There  came  one  day  into  our  Soochow  hospital  a 
Chinese  woman.  “ Can  you  do  anything  for  me  ? ” 
she  asked.  “ I hope  so,”  was  the  reply.  “ What  is 
the  matter  ? ” Then  she  told  her  story.  “ I am  the 
wife  of  a small  farmer.  We  are  very  poor.  My  life 
of  seventy  years  has  been  a hard  one,  for  we  have 
eaten  much  bitterness.  Day  after  day,  I have  crawled 
with  my  husband  through  the  mud,  on  hands  and  knees 
in  cultivating  the  rice  stalks.  We  had  neither  plow 
nor  buffalo.  My  body  is  tortured  to  death  with 
rheumatism  and  burning  up  with  fever.” 

She  was  put  to  bed,  given  medicine,  and  made  as 


THE  CHALLENGE 


189 

comfortable  as  possible  for  the  night.  The  next  morn- 
ing, after  attending  the  surgical  cases,  I visited  the 
Woman’s  ward,  paused  by  her  bedside,  took  her  hand 
in  mine  and  asked,  “ Have  you  eaten  your  soft-boiled 
rice?  How  do  you  feel  this  morning?”  “Oh,  I feel 
better,”  she  replied.  “ Then  why  do  you  cry  ? ” The 
tears  were  trickling  down  her  weather-beaten  cheeks. 
“ Oh,  Doctor,  you  have  been  so  good  to  me ! ” and 
then  she  added,  “ I am  an  old  woman.  My  life  has  been 
bitter  — bitter  to  death.  I have  given  birth  to  chil- 
dren. They  grew  up,  married  and  have  gone,  but  not 
one  has  ever  held  my  hand  or  said  kind  words  like 
a son.  Oh,  Doctor,  when  I am  well  do  not  send  me 
away.  This  is  heaven.  Let  me  mop  the  floors  and 
cook  the  rice.  My  old  husband  might  sweep  the  yard 
and  mind  the  gate.  But  let  me  stay  — this  is  the  only 
heaven  for  an  old  woman  like  me.” 

As  I stroked  her  rough  hand,  the  tears  came  in- 
voluntarily to  my  own  eyes  until  her  face  was  lost 
in  the  blur.  There  seemed  to  be  another  face  into 
which  I gazed  for  the  moment  — the  face  of  the  Great 
Physician  who  said,  “ Inasmuch  as  ye  have  done  this 
unto  the  least  of  these,  my  brethren,  ye  have  done  it 
unto  me.”  Then  I discovered  the  real  motive  of  the 
missionary.  It  is  not  the  need  of  the  individual, 
deep  and  appealing  as  that  is;  not  the  Chinese,  great 
as  the  appeal  of  countless  multitudes  may  be ; not 
the  command,  imperative  as  its  terms  are,  but  the 
Master  — the  Master  himself  and  His  love.  Herein 
lies  the  constraint.  In  neglecting  these  weaker  ones, 
we  neglect  Him.  In  ministering  to  their  need,  we  min- 
ister to  Him.  The  true  missionary  motive  is  wrapped 
up  in  His  life  and  centered  in  His  love. 


THE  SECRET  OF  POWER 


“A  good  doctor  should  be  at  once  a 
a man  of  God.” 


genius,  a saint  and 
A miel. 


“Oh,  we  need  power;  the  deadness  of  these  souls  is  some- 
thing awful ; their  utter  ignorance  of  what  sin  is,  the  fearful 
lethargy  into  which  they  have  fallen,  all  reveal  that  our  one 
great  essential  is  power — Divine,  life-giving  power.  And 
bless  God  we  have  all  this  in  Christ.” 

Dr.  Kenneth  Mackenzie. 


VIII. 


THE  SECRET  OF  POWER. 

Dr.  Alexander  Simpson,  of  Edinburgh,  visited 
Tokyo  on  his  way  to  the  General  Missionary  Con- 
ference in  China.  Being  an  eminent  authority  on 
obstetrics,  he  was  given  a reception  and  invited  to 
deliver  an  address  before  the  Medical  Faculty  of  the 
Imperial  University.  More  than  sixty  professors  were 
present.  Knowing  he  could  speak  with  authority  on 
his  special  department,  and  aware  of  the  fact  that  he 
was  a relative  of  the  distinguished  James  Y.  Simpson, 
who  was  the  first  to  experiment  with  the  use  of  chloro- 
form in  Great  Britain,  they  expected  an  address  upon 
some  obstetrical  or  scientific  subject. 

Realizing  that  it  was  his  only  opportunity,  that  of  a 
lifetime  and  not  one  to  be  thrown  away,  Sir  Alex- 
ander spent  the  half  hour  in  recounting,  in  the  simplest 
of  language,  what  the  Great  Physician  had  done  for 
him  personally,  and  for  the  souls  of  men  as  well  as  for 
their  bodies.  It  was  a beautiful  sight  — the  glowing 
face  of  the  white-haired  old  veteran  turned  toward  the 
amphitheatre  full  of  professors  and  students,  the 
majority  of  whom  were  agnostics,  and  not  a few 
avowed  atheists.  The  respectful  silence,  the  almost 
awed  hush,  the  recognition  of  his  professional  standing, 
and  the  reverence  for  his  age  and  sincerity  — all 
seemed  to  point  to  a new  and  open  door  through  which 
his  words  gained  an  entrance  to  the  hearts  of  men 
who  had  given  themselves  for  years  to  rationalistic 
argument  and  materialistic  research. 

What  seemed  to  be  the  lesson  of  the  hour?  That 
193 


194  MEDICAL  MISSIONS:  THE  TWOFOLD  TASK 


man  who  would  fight  sin  to  a finish  must  begin  the 
battle  in  the  arena  of  the  physical  nature;  that  effi- 
ciency in  the  higher  realm  of  our  nature  is  mysteriously 
dependent  upon  efficiency  in  the  lower ; that  the  sanctity 
of  the  body  becomes  a corollary  of  the  sanctity  of 
the  soul.  Finally,  and  this  was  the  point  up  to  which 
all  else  led,  if  a man  is  to  find  any  real  basis  of  living 
and  of  duty,  he  must  first  find  God.  To  the  medical 
faculty  of  a non-Christian  university  it  was  an  extraor- 
dinary line  of  thought,  and  Sir  Alexander  brought 
tl^em  to  an  unexpected  conclusion. 

. Real  life  begins  for  any  man  only  with  the  discovery 
of  a real  God.  We  have  a striking  illustration  of  this 
in  H.  G.  Wells’  great  war  story,  “ Mr.  Britling  Sees 
it  Through.”  With  rare  skill  the  author  leads  his 
principal  character  from  an  easy  optimism,  a colorless 
non-moral  life  and  a sinful  wastage  of  manhood’s 
opportunity  to  a stern  realization  that  while  he  and 
his  guests  from  London  were  spending  their  Sundays 
in  playing  hockey,  the  world  was  in  a conflagration. 
Fie  had  been  adrift  without  a God.  His  secretary 
joined  the  King’s  army  and  was  taken  prisoner;  his 
son  enlisted  and  was  killed.  And  now  Mr.  Britling 
finds  God  — a real  God,  and  duty.  It  is  the  story  of 
England’s  awakening  to  the  stern  reality  of  life  and 
its  tragedies.  What  is  it,  but  the  story  of  every  man’s 
awakening  to  the  sense  of  personal  obligation  to  throw 
himself,  without  reserve,  into  the  service  of  God  and 
of  his  fellowman? 

Man’s  ministry  to  man  — body,  mind  and  soul  — 
can  win  the  world,  and  will  win  the  world,  if  it  rests 
on  a central  and  vital  faith  in  God.  He  must  be  made 
real.  Men  of  this  age  are  seeking  the  reality  of  things 
and  want  a real  God,  and  a mighty  God.  A weak  God 
will  not  satisfy  strong  men.  It  is  not  a question  of 
theories  or  doctrines  or  even  ideals,  but  of  dynamics 


THE  SECRET  OF  POWER 


195 


and  of  power.  It  is  not  ethical  standards  that  will 
win  mankind.  “ Christianity  is  the  only  religion  which 
possesses  a sufficient  dynamic  to  make  its  ethical 
standards  realizable.”  It  is  the  story  of  a life  which 
explains  God  — more  than  that  even  — it  is  the  life 
itself.  It  involves  a force,  the  most  potent  in  the 
universe,  a force  which  is  personal,  vital,  re-creative, 
and  which  concerns  every  man.  That  force  is  Jesus 
Christ,  the  Saviour  of  the  world,  personally  present 
in  the  physician,  imminently  present  in  the  hospital, 
forever  present  in  His  own  world.  To  accept  this 
Person,  to  realize  Him,  to  live  Him,  to  minister  as 
He  ministered  to  humanity  sick  in  body,  sick  in  soul, 
sick  unto  death,  is  to  find  the  reality  of  God.  It  is 
the  secret  of  power,  the  heart  of  the  gospel,  and  the 
soul  of  the  missionary  enterprise.  The  missionary  who 
would  be  equipped  for  his  task  and  efficient  in  it  must 
live  in  the  might  of  this  superhuman  energy. 

I.  The  Power  of  Faith  in  God. 

Faith  in  a real  God  lies  at  the  source  of  all  power, 
whether  in  personal  experience,  or  in  a constructive 
work,  whether  in  our  age  or  in  any  other.  “ What  we 
need  today  is  a resurgence  of  the  heroic,  daring  temper 
of  the  apostolic  age.  There  was  a little  Christian  com- 
munity then  which  dared  to  look  with  calm,  aspiring 
eyes  abroad  over  the  whole  wild  welter  of  the  western 
world,  and  to  dream  the  impossible  dream  of  capturing 
it  all  for  the  empire  of  Christ,  and  then  dared  to  set 
out  to  make  the  dream  come  true.”1  To  repeat  and 
extend  such  a conquest  requires  men  who  have  a 
mighty  faith,  and  who  by  the  very  audacity  of  their 
faith  make  God  real  and  actual  in  all  their  tasks,  ('ft 
requires  men  who  believe  and  dare ; who  pray  and 

1 Roberts,  “ The  Renascence  of  Faith,”  p.  257. 


196  MEDICAL  MISSIONS:  THE  TWOFOLD  TASK 


have  large  expectation ; who  have  vision  and  are  ready 
to  venture  for  God  — men  who  will  not  be  disobedient 
to  the  heavenly  vision.  Such,  and  only  such,  can  hope 
to  win  men  and  conquer  the  world.  ) 

Faith  upon  the  part  of  the  physician  begets  con- 
fidence upon  the  part  of  the  patient.  Faith  without 
works  is  vain,  but  physical  as  well  as  moral  recoveries 
depend  upon  faith  as  well  as  works.  “ It  is  when  the 
eye  of  the  patient  meets  the  eye  of  the  physician,” 
says  Dr.  A.  T.  Schofield,  “ that  the  cure  begins,  if  it  is 
likely  to  take  place.”  The  personality  of  a doctor, 
what  he  is,  and  what  he  believes,  counts  for  more  than 
what  he  knows.  This  is  not  discounting  qualifications 
or  skill.  Does  not  this  account  for  much  of  the  won- 
derful success  attending  the  work  of  medical  mission- 
aries who  labor  under  the  most  untoward  and  trying 
circumstances?  Their  reassuring  touch  upon  humanity 
is  because  Another  has  touched  their  lives.  By  the 
measure  of  their  openness  to  His  approach,  and  faith 
in  His  power,  by  so  much  do  they  win  the  confidence 
of  their  patients.  The  native,  however  full  he  may  be 
of  conceit,  always  recognizes,  and  often  to  the  point  of 
reverence,  the  soul  of  sincerity  and  truth  in  the  life 
of  an  honest  man  or  woman  who  seeks  to  do  him  good. 
One  was  heard  to  say  of  a missionary,  “ He  is  so  pure 
we  cannot  look  him  in  the  face  and  tell  a lie.” 

There  is  power  in  the  Name.  We  may  not  have  the 
special  gift  of  miraculous  cures  bestowed  upon  Peter 
and  John,  but  how  suggestive  and  convincing  the  story 
of  the  healing  of  the  man  lame  from  his  mother’s 
womb  who  lay  at  the  beautiful  gate  of  the  temple. 
“And  Peter,  fastening  his  eyes  upon  him,  with  John, 
said,  ‘ Look  on  us.’  And  he  gave  heed  unto  them 
expecting  to  receive  something  from  them.  But  Peter 
said,  ‘ Silver  and  gold  have  I none,  but  what  I have, 
that  give  I thee.  In  the  name  of  Jesus  Christ  of 


THE  SECRET  OF  POWER 


197 


Nazareth,  walk.”1  What  did  Peter  have  for  a help- 
less man?  An  impelling  desire  to  help,  faith  in  the 
Name,  and  the  touch  of  the  risen  Christ  upon  himself 
and  John.  May  not  these  be  the  privilege  of  every 
medical  missionary?  Without  them  it  is  useless  to 
go  forth ; with  them  we  share  in  the  promise,  “ Verily, 
verily,  I say  unto  you,  he  that  believeth  on  me,  the 
works  that  I do  shall  he  do  also ; and  greater  works 
than  these  shall  he  do;  because  I go  unto  the  Father. 
And  whatsoever  ye  shall  ask  in  my  name,  that  will  I 
do,  that  the  Father  may  be  glorified  in  the  Son.” 

Rev.  W.  E.  Soothill,  of  China,  has  said : “ Medicine 
is  our  substitute  for  miracles.  Whatever  the  cause, 
we  cannot  do  the  wonderful  works  wrought  by  the 
Apostles.  It  may  be  our  lack  of  faith ; it  may  be  the 
power  has  been  withdrawn,  having  served  its  purpose ; 
or  it  may  be  the  power  is  here  within  men’s  reach  as 
much  as  ever.”  Ours  is  not  an  absentee  God;  He  is 
imminently  present  in  the  world  today.  But  we  are 
doing  more  wonderful  works  than  the  Apostles. 
Power  is  not  withdrawn.  It  is  diffused.  It  finds 
expression  through  a thousand  agents  and  agencies. 
‘‘All  power  is  with  God,  and  His  power  is  available.” 
Let  our  daily  task  be  shot  through  with  a mighty 
faith  and  He  will  give  us  more  power  as  we  fully  and 
reverently  use  what  we  have. 

In  other  words,  power  is  given  us  according  to  our 
obedience.  Christianity  is  a religion  of  obedience. 
If  the  first  secret  of  the  mighty  power  of  Jesus  Christ 
was  faith  in  God,  the  second  was  no  less  significant  — • 
“ He  learned  obedience  by  the  things  which  he  suf- 
fered,” and  with  this  key  he  opened  to  man  the 
mysteries  of  the  Kingdoms  of  nature  and  of  grace. 
“ The  military  virtues  of  obedience,  courage  and  sacri- 


1 Acts  3:4-6.  John  14:12-13. 


198  MEDICAL  MISSIONS:  THE  TWOFOLD  TASK 


fice  are  also  the  Christian  virtues,”  says  Dr.  Jefferson. 
“ Christ’s  first  commandant  is  Obey.  Obedience,  He 
says,  is  the  organ  of  knowledge.  He  that  wills  to  do 
God’s  will,  shall  know.  ‘If  ye  know  these  things, 
happy  are  ye  if  ye  do  them.’  ” By  obedience  the  mis- 
sionary moves  against  wind  and  tide.  He  never  drifts ; 
he  sails.  He  is  no  victim  of  fate.  If  he  would  do  the 
will  of  God,  he  moves  as  a prince,  as  the  child  of  a 
King.  Hear  Cassius  as  he  exclaims, 

“Men  at  some  time  are  masters  of  their  fate; 

The  fault,  dear  Brutus,  is  not  in  our  stars, 

But  in  ourselves,  that  we  are  underlings.” 

The  missionary  who  has  a vital  faith  in  God  will 
have  a mighty  faith  in  His  religion.  Christianity  is 
a religion  of  hope  and  good  cheer.  It  is  like  a cordial 
to  a weary  and  weakened  body.  It  is  the  good  Samari- 
tan to  the  poor  fellow,  beaten  and  bruised,  who  had 
fallen  among  robbers  between  Jerusalem  and  Jericho. 
Its  hopefulness  is  based  upon  the  love  of  the  Father 
for  His  children;  upon  the  ministry  of  Jesus  Christ  for 
the  sinful  and  the  lost;  upon  the  impregnable  rock 
of  God’s  word;  upon  the  power  and  persistence  of 
truth ; upon  the  indestructible  faith  of  humanity ; upon 
the  ultimate  triumph  of  the  right ; and  upon  its  un- 
shakable and  ineradicable  hope  of  immortality.  Mis- 
sionaries are  constitutionally  optimistic,  and  all  great 
missionary  workers  have  been  men  and  women  ■whose 
hopefulness  has  risen  to  the  height  of  their  faith. 

Christianity  is  a religion  of  comfort.  The  man  who 
faces  the  ravages  of  sin,  disease  and  death  must  have 
faith  in  a God  of  comfort  — One  who  is  a mighty 
fortress;  One  whose  presence  should  bring  assurance 
and  peace  into  the  sick  room  instead  of  terror.  The 
death  of  a heathen  is  the  death  of  a Christless  man  — 
one  who  goes  out  alone.  Who  shall  describe  it  — the 
staring  eyes,  the  clenched  fist,  the  shriek  of  fear  ? It 


THE  SECRET  OF  POWER 


199 


is  because,  with  him,  God  is  associated  with  evil,  mis- 
fortune and  death.  Flow  true  to  the  experience  of  the 
man  without  Christ  is  Shakespeare’s  description  of  the 
death  of  Falstaff,  as  given  by  the  tavern  keeper’s  wife  : 
“ So  ’a  cried  out,  God,  God,  God,  three  or  four  times. 
Now,  I to  comfort  him  bid  him  ’a  should  not  think  of 
God ; I hoped  there  was  no  need  to  trouble  himself 
with  any  such  thoughts  yet.” 

A living  faith  in  God  carries  with  it  not  only  a faith 
in  the  message  of  God  which  the  missionary  proclaims 
but  also  in  the  errand  on  which  God  has  sent  him.  The 
secret  of  power  lies  with  him  who  can  forget  himself 
in  the  pursuit  of  his  task.  That  is  the  man  who  rises 
above  the  petty  exactions  of  the  hour,  retains  his 
poise,  and,  with  an  almost  divine  patience,  finds  time 
to  pray  for  opportunity  to  touch  with  tenderness 
wounded  hearts.  It  is  just  this  that  wins  the  fight. 
Dr.  Speer  quotes  Archbishop  Benson’s  rules  as  apply- 
ing to  Dr.  Joseph  Cochran:  “Not  to  call  attention 

to  crowded  work,  or  petty  fatigues,  or  trivial  expe- 
riences. To  heal  wounds  which,  in  time  past,  my  cruel 
and  careless  hands  have  made.  To  seek  no  favor,  no 
compassion;  to  deserve,  not  ask  for  tenderness.  Not 
to  feel  any  uneasiness  when  my  advice  or  opinion  is 
not  asked,  or  is  set  aside.”  Do  we  wonder  that  his 
Board  Secretary,  on  a visit  to  the  field,  should  say, 
“ He  illustrated  the  repose  and  calm  of  real  strength 
more  than  any  man  it  was  ever  my  pleasure  to  meet. 
I have  found  this  year  that  nothing  I have  ever  known 
is  such  a continual  strain  upon  one’s  temper  and  nerves 
as  the  continual  contact  with  the  smallness  and  petti- 
ness of  native  character.  I thought  that  I was  amiable 
before  I came  here ; I have  had  to  revise  this  estimate 
of  myself  and  pray  daily  for  patience.”1 


1 Robert  E.  Speer,  **  The  Foreign  Doctor,”  pp.  374,  375. 


200  MEDICAL  MISSIONS:  THE  TWOFOLD  TASK 


Of  all  workers  the  missionary  should  be  the  last  to 
grow  despondent.  His  high  purpose  and  his  realiza- 
tion of  the  presence  of  his  Master,  strengthen  hope, 
and  keep  doubt  and  fear  away.  Professor  James  says, 
“ the  sovereign  cure  for  worry  is  religious  faith.”  He 
is  right,  but  it  must  be  Christain  faith.  Dr.  C.  W. 
Saleeby  is  quoted  as  saying  that  “ the  two  great  anti- 
worry religions  are  Buddhism  and  Christianity.”  But 
what  does  Buddhism  say?  “Worry  is  an  inevitable 
accompaniment  of  life.  In  order  to  get  rid  of  worry, 
you  must  destroy  the  desire  to  live,  and  the  goal  of  all 
being  is  Nirvana — absorption  and  extinction.”  What 
does  Christianity  teach?  “The  great  end  is  not  less 
but  more  abundant  life” — anything  but  absorption  and 
extinction.  It  is  to  find  the  real  meaning  of  life,  the 
discovery  of  a new  center  and  reenforcing  point  of 
life.  Then  does  human  life  become  lifted  up  and  over 
into  the  Divine. 

The  calm  assurance  which  Jesus  had  was  “ the  peace 
of  a soul  that  had  come  out  of  eternity.”  Receive 
Him,  and  His  peace  becomes  ours.  Ay,  more  than  that, 
He  Plimself  becomes  our  peace.  Nor  will  any  man 
attain  unto  masterfulness  until  he  is  filled  with  the 
spirit  of  Him  who  strengthens  faith  and  inspires  con- 
fidence in  the  infinite  resources  of  divine  grace  — 
than  comes  the  calm  of  a soul  in  touch  with  the  In- 
finite. Was  it  not  in  such  a spirit  that  Jesus  did  His 
mighty  works?  There  was  neither  timidity  nor  haste. 
He  moved  steadily  forward  as  one  conscious  of  His 
power  over  nature,  men  and  evil  spirits,  and  yet  He 
gave  constant  evidence  of  a reverent  obedience  to  the 
Father  and  of  supreme  desire  to  do  His  will  in  all 
things.  His  faith  in  His  cause  never  wavered. 

Nor  can  any  man  have  power  in  work  who  lacks 
faith  in  his  cause.  This  is  more  important  than  to 
have  faith  in  himself,  essential  as  that  may  be.  A 


THE  SECRET  OF  POWER 


201 


man  who  can  so  thoroughly  forget  himself  as  to  make 
his  life-work  first  and  uppermost,  will  not  only  win 
success  in  the  profession  to  which  he  is  called,  but, 
what  is  far  better,  win  the  confidence  of  others  in  the 
genuineness  of  his  life,  and  the  sincerity  of  his  pur- 
pose. 

The  secret  of  power  then,  lies  first  of  all  in  the  mis- 
sionary’s life  of  faith  in  God.  How  enriching  and 
expanding  is  this  quality.  As  God  reveals  Himself 
to  him,  man  grows.  “ Man  grows  with  the  greatness 
of  his  purpose.”  He  grows  with  his  apprehension  of 
truth,  his  enlargement  of  sympathy,  his  deepening 
motive,  and  his  ever-rising  ideals.  The  missionary 
must  keep  his  faith  alive  if  he  would  grow  with  his 
convert,  with  his  group  of  believers,  with  the  native 
church,  and  what  should  be  to  him  an  ever-enlarging 
conception  of  the  redemptive  purpose  and  plan.  Should 
he  fail  here,  his  failure  is  perilous  and  is  a symptom  of 
that  slow  paralysis  which  may  lead  to  a deadening  of 
every  spiritual  sensibility.  A calling  under  such  con- 
ditions degenerates  into  professionalism  and  loss  of 
spiritual  power.  If  the  faith  of  the  native  church  sur- 
vives the  failure  of  his  own,  and  grows  in  intelligence 
and  vitality,  he  loses  his  place  of  leadership,  becomes 
a follower  instead  of  a leader  and  forfeits  his  right  to 
a place  on  the  mission  field.  It  has  been  true  of  all 
missionaries  of  power  that  they  have  seen  men  and 
women  of  conquering  faith  in  the  living  God. 

II.  The  Power  of  the  Word  of  God 

Tire  Bible  is  the  missionary’s  textbook.  It  is  the 
Book  of  Life  — a revelation  of  God  the  Father  in 
Jesus  Christ  His  Son,  the  Saviour  of  the  world.  No 
man  can  live  a truly  great  life  without  it,  neither  can 
he  expect  to  be  a messenger  of  life  to  others  unless 
he  himself  has  a first-hand,  working  knowledge  of  its 


202  MEDICAL  MISSIONS:  THE  TWOFOLD  TASK 


principles.  “ The  Bible  will  not  be  closed,”  said  Emer- 
son, “ until  the  last  great  man  is  born.”  The  Bible 
stands  for  primacy  of  spiritual  realities.  It  does  not 
claim  prominence  for  itself  in  history,  philosophy  or 
science,  but  it  is  supreme  in  the  realm  of  morals  and 
religion.  The  emphasis  of  the  Bible  is  upon  person- 
ality — redeemable  and  redeemed  — “ the  most  inter- 
esting, the  most  eminent  and  the  most  costly  in  the  list 
of  the  assets  of  the  world.” 

The  Bible  alone  can  satisfy  the  heart  hunger  of  the 
world.  It  was  Coleridge  who  said,  “ I know  the  Bible 
is  inspired  because  it  finds  me  at  greater  depths  of  my 
being  than  any  other  book.”  Joseph  Neesima,  of  Japan, 
leaving  his  mountain  home  in  his  quest  for  God,  ex- 
changed his  sword  for  a New  Testament,  and  in  find- 
ing God  found  his  true  and  higher  self.  Sosthenes 
Juarez,  receiving  a family  Bible  in  French  from  one  of 
Maximillian’s  soldiers,  gathered  round  him  a group 
of  thirsty  souls  and  laid  the  foundations  of  an  evan- 
gelical church  in  the  city  of  Mexico.  It  was  a Cuban 
woman,  in  the  city  of  Santiago,  who  read  her  Bible 
daily  for  thirty  years  behind  barred  doors,  prayed  for 
the  opening  of  the  island  to  the  gospel,  and  interpreted 
the  bombardment  of  Admiral  Sampson  as  an  answer 
to  her  prayers.  There  is  no  craving  for  comfort,  no 
hunger  for  truth,  no  thirst  for  God,  that  the  Bible 
cannot  satisfy  whether  it  be  in  the  hands  of  the  mis- 
sionary who  goes  to  make  Christ  known,  or  of  the 
native  to  whom  the  message  has  been  taken. 

Twelve  tribes  were  welded  into  a nation,  and  made 
the  depository  of  God's  thought.  Two  of  the  world’s 
greatest  languages  — the  Hebrew  and  the  Greek  — were 
formed  into  a matrix  for  God’s  revelation  to  man. 

The  Bible  has  created  a world  conscience  and 
deepened  the  sense  of  God.  It  has  vitalized  nations 
and  peoples  remote  from  civilization.  It  has  led  to 


THE  SECRET  OF  POWER 


203 


sweeping  reforms  and  generated  great  revival  move- 
ments. It  has  opened  perennial  fountains  for  enrich- 
ing literary  work  and  personal  experience.  Dr.  Wil- 
liam Osier,  eminent  in  the  medical  profession,  in  his 
Harvard  lecture  on  “ Science  and  Immortality,”  makes 
forty-one  allusions  to,  and  quotations  from  the  Bible  in 
the  compass  of  its  forty-three  pages.  Dr.  Howard 
Kelly,  of  Johns  Hopkins,  equally  distinguished  in  his 
department,  is  a diligent  and  daily  student  of  the  Word 
of  God.  “All  the  wisdom  of  the  world  is  in  this  little 
book,”  exclaimed  a great  savant.  Its  unity,  its  con- 
tinuity, its  comprehensiveness  of  plan,  its  revelation 
of  God,  its  vascularity  and  freshness,  its  human  ele- 
ment which  never  grows  old,  and  its  moral  energy 
and  spiritual  power  caused  the  Ex-Premier  of  Japan, 
Marquis  Okuma,  to  assert,  “ Modern  civilization  takes 
its  rise  from  the  teachings  of  the  sage  of  Judea,  in 
whom  alone  is  found  the  dynamic  of  progress.” 

Its  principles  have  been  the  inspiration  of  great 
missionaries  and  its  translation  their  crowning  work. 
W e have  only  to  turn  to  Robert  Morrison,  the  pioneer 
missionary  to  China,  and  find  that  in  his  earlier  years, 
while  still  at  Newcastle-on-Tyne,  he  toiled  from 
twelve  to  fourteen  hours  a day  and  “ still  found  time 
to  spend  one  or  two  hours  for  reading  and  meditation. 
While  at  work,  his  Bible  or  some  other  book  was  con- 
stantly open  before  him.”  William  Carey,  the  pious 
cobbler  of  Nottingham,  read  the  Bible  so  diligently 
in  the  original  that  when  he  went  to  India  he  was  pre- 
pared to  translate  it  into  several  languages.  Adoniram 
Judson  put  it  into  the  Burmese,  Dr.  Hepburn  into  the 
Japanese,  Dr.  Van  Dyck  into  the  Arabic. 

In  Schofield’s  journal  there  is  the  following  record: 
“ January  1,  1876.  Began  at  twenty-five  years  of  age 
the  habit  of  reading  through  the  Old  Testament  once, 
and  the  New  Testament  twice  every  year.  * My  soul, 
wait  thou  on  God,  for  my  expectation  is  from  Him.’ 


204  MEDICAL  MISSIONS:  THE  TWOFOLD  TASK 


‘Ye  are  not  your  own;  ye  are  bought  with  a price.’ 
To  some  extent  I have  kept  my  resolutions  of  reading 
God's  Word.  God  help  me  this  year  to  treat  it  as 
His  Word;  to  read  it  every  spare  moment;  constantly 
to  meditate  on  it,  and  to  use  it  in  dependence  on  the 
Holy  Ghost,  both  in  judging  myself  and  as  a sword  to 
others.” 

III.  The  Power  of  Fellowship  with  God 

In  the  life  of  Dr.  J.  C.  Hepburn  is  a simple  but  most 
significant  statement:  “They  raised  the  family  altar 
at  once  in  the  old  temple  in  which  they  were  living.” 
Quietly,  unostentatiously,  without  flourish  of  trumpets, 
this  man  of  God  brought  to  the  Japanese  Empire  the 
living  fire.  Not  an  altar  raised  to  the  “ unknown 
god,”  in  a land  where  the  people  are  as  fond  of  hearing 
some  new  thing  as  were  those  of  Athens,  but  to  the 
known  God,  to  Him  who  had  been  tested,  who  could 
by  His  spirit  quicken  a man’s  personality  and  energize 
it  into  a Christly  life.  What  wonder  then  that  a 
Japanese,  in  speaking  of  the  veteran  and  his  wife  at  a 
farewell  meeting,  was  prompted  to  say,  “ When  it  was 
common  for  the  patriot  to  take  his  sword  in  hand, 
there  was  a man  who  came  to  our  country  with  the 
gospel  of  peace;  . . . The  once  young  and 

able  couple  have  now  become  the  old,  white-haired 
couple.  . . . The  gift  which  the  Doctor  has  made 

to  our  countrymen  is  his  personality,  more  than  his 
work.  . . .” 

In  the  old  Buddhist  temple,  standing  upon  the  shore 
of  the  beautiful  bay  that  stretches  out  toward  the 
Pacific  many  prayers  were  offered  for  the  people  of 
the  Sunrise  Kingdom  in  those  early  days  of  medical 
practice  and  of  translation.  The  missionary  had  made 
them  his  people,  and  for  them  he  interceded  as  though 
they  were  his  children. 

Does  prayer  really  change  things?  Out  of  the 


THE  SECRET  OF  POWER 


205 


experience  of  a multitude  of  missionaries  we  have  a 
decided  and  an  affirmative  answer.  Minds  have  been 
convinced,  hearts  brought  under  conviction,  tempera- 
ments changed,  life-long  habits  broken  up,  and  lives 
completely  transformed.  The  very  physical  texture 
and  expression  of  the  countenance  have  come  under 
some  marvelous  influence,  so  that  malignity  and  hate 
have  been  changed  into  affection,  gentleness  and  so- 
licitude, as  in  the  case  of  Africaner,  the  ferocious 
chief,  under  the  spell  of  Dr.  Moffatt’s  prayers.  Cures 
have  been  wronght  — wonderful  cures,  fevers  rebuked, 
health  restored  and  life  preserved. 

Ruxley  was  in  the  habit  of  saying  that  a thought 
could  no  more  produce  a change  in  our  bodies  than  a 
steam  whistle  could  run  a locomotive.  But  in  view 
of  the  wonderful  cures  effected  in  certain  diseases  by 
strong  faith,  hope  or  suggestion,  no  experienced  physi- 
ologist or  physician  would  endorse  this  dogmatic  state- 
ment today.  Man’s  will,  we  know,  has  power  to 
cooperate  with  God’s  will,  and  to  effect  results  which 
would  not  be  effected  were  either  facter  cancelled. 
The  fundamental  dogma  of  modern  psychology  is  the 
unity  of  mind  and  body.  It  is  almost  impossible  to 
exaggerate  the  significance  of  this  fact.1 

One  of  the  most  remarkable  tendencies  in  modern 
thought  is  that  toward  the  forces  at  work  in  the  un- 
seen world,  whether  psychic  or  spiritual.  Mind  af- 
fects mind,  and  mind  affects  matter.  The  quickened 
circulation  of  the  blood,  its  determination  to  some 
particular  organ,  rise  in  temperature,  increased  sensi- 
tiveness to  pain,  loss  of  appetite,  impaired  digestion, 

1 The  great  Italian  physician,  Moso,  demonstrated  the  intimate  con- 
nection between  thought  and  the  circulation  of  the  blood  in  the  brain. 
He  so  nicely  balanced  a man  stretched  upon  a table  that  concentrated 
thought  upon  the  part  of  the  man,  or  even  a noise  made  when  he  slept, 
would  so  affect  the  sensorium  tnat  even  that  slight  determination  of 
blood  to  the  brain  would  cause  the  end  of  the  table  upon  which  his 
head  rested  to  respond  and  become  slightly  depressed. 


206  MEDICAL  MISSIONS:  THE  TWOFOLD  TASK 


or,  on  the  other  hand,  the  beneficent  results  of  con- 
fidence in  a remedy,  or  in  the  doctor  or  nurse,  or  the 
prayers  of  a trusted  friend,  are  too  familiar  to  gain- 
say.1 

Professor  James  says,  “As  regards  prayers  for  the 
sick,  if  any  medical  fact  can  be  considered  to  stand 
firm,  it  is  that  in  certain  environment  prayer  may 
contribute  to  recovery  and  should  be  encouraged  as  a 
therapeutic  measure.  Under  the  influence  of  prayer 
wonderful  recoveries  have  taken  place ; whereas  it  is 
well  known  that  when  men  become  demoralized  and 
lose  faith  and  hope  and  the  will  to  live,  they  frequently 
die  from  the  slightest  causes.  Perhaps  the  most  re- 
markable example  of  the  power  of  prayer  in  sickness 
is  that  of  Luther  and  Melanchthon.  Prayer,  as  is 
well  known,  rescued  Melanchthon  from  the  jaws  of 
death.”2  And  yet  there  is  a lurking  infidelity  in  many 
quarters  in  regard  to  the  efficacy  of  prayer.  “Any- 
thing which  helps  us  to  recover  our  faith  in  prayer,” 
says  Richard  Roberts,  “ will  add  enormously  to  the 
possibilities  of  life.” 

How  refreshing,  after  Huxley’s  agnosticism,  is  the 
experience  of  such  a man  as  Kenneth  Mackenzie, 
whose  medical  qualifications  were  the  best  England 
could  offer,  whose  surgical  skill  no  one  doubted,  and 
whose  religious  life  was  such  as  to  convince  the 
Chinese  that  he  lived  what  he  professed  and  that 
his  word  was  absolutely  dependable.  “After  doing  all 
I could  for  him,”  he  writes,  “ I imitated  the  men  who 
brought  the  case  of  palsy  to  our  Lord  to  be  healed, 
and  laid  this  man’s  case  before  Jesus.  He  heard  my 
prayers,  and  the  prayers  of  dear  Millie,  and  the  next 
morning  there  was  a great  improvement  in  the  man, 
since  which  time  he  has  been  daily  getting  better.”3 

1 Memorials  of  Harold  A.  Schofield,  by  his  brother. 

2 Quoted  by  Worcester,  “Religion  and  Medicine,”  p.  309. 

3 Mrs.  M.  I.  Bryson,  "John  Kenneth  Mackenzie,”  p.  190. 


THE  SECRET  OF  POWER 


207 


During  the  development  of  the  medical  work  at 
Tientsin,  the  question  was  raised  as  to  what  would 
happen  were  the  Viceroy  Li  to  die  or  leave  the  city. 
Humanly  speaking,  everything  depended,  at  that  time, 
upon  his  favor  and  patronage.  Mackenzie  replied, 
“ Such  contingencies  do  not  trouble  me,  as  I believe 
it  is  God’s  work,  not  ours.  We  are  not  trusting  in 
the  princes  of  this  world,  but  in  the  help  of  the  King 
of  Kings  who  has  already  started  this  work,  and  He 
will  not  forsake  it,  I am  sure.  We  only  want  to  use 
more  our  privilege  of  prayer  through  faith  in  Jesus. 
It  is  marvelous  to  think  that  God  promises  to  hear  and 
answer  prayer  when  in  the  name  of  Jesus.  Especially 
is  this  manifest  when  we  are  in  felt  need.” 

Working  with  God  was  the  secret  of  Harold 
Schofield's  reserve  of  power.  He  had  a mighty  faith 
in  prayer.  In  the  “ memorials  ” prepared  by  his 
brother  we  find  the  observation  : “Always  before  com- 
mencing a serious  operation  he  would  offer  a few 
words  of  prayer  with  equal  sincerity  and  simplicity. 
On  one  occasion  the  doctor  was  trying  to  reduce  an 
old  case  of  hip  dislocation.  After  several  attempts 
it  seemed  impossible  to  succeed,  but  during  a pause 
the  doctor  offered  a few  words  of  prayer,  and  shortly 
afterwards  was  successful  in  restoring  the  hip  to  its 
normal  position.  This  will  show  the  spirit  in  which 
he  did  his  work.  He  was  a ‘ worker  together  with 
God.’  ” This  calls  to  mind  the  habit  of  William  E. 
Gladstone,  the  great  Commoner  and  the  great  Chris- 
tian. It  was  his  custom  when  in  the  midst  of  a debate 
in  Parliament,  or  the  delivery  of  a speech  upon  some 
important  question,  to  pause  for  a moment,  and  lift 
up  his  heart  in  prayer  for  divine  help.  It  may  not 
have  been  noticed  by  the  members  of  Parliament,  but 
God  saw,  help  came,  and  the  effect  at  times  was 
overwhelming. 


208  MEDICAL  MISSIONS:  THE  TWOFOLD  TASK 


Schofield  made  constant  intercession  that  God  would 
place  the  needs  of  the  mission  fields  of  the  world  upon 
the  hearts  of  university  and  college  students.  “ These 
prayers  were  answered,”  writes  his  brother,  “ in  the 
going  out  of  the  well-known  Cambridge  Band,  in  the 
influence  of  the  addresses  of  Messrs.  Stanley  Smith 
and  C.  T.  Studd  upon  scores  of  young  men  of  the 
British  Universities,  and  in  * the  formation  and  growth 
of  the  Student  Volunteer  Movement.’  ” It  was  in  the 
remote  interior  of  the  Shansi  province,  where  he  was 
the  first  medical  missionary,  that  those  days  of  inter- 
cession were  observed.  His  time  of  service  was  short, 
but  he  lived  much  even  if  he  did  not  live  long.  Dr. 
J.  Hudson  Taylor,  in  commenting  on  it  all,  said:  “ I 
have  sometimes  thought  that  in  those  prayers  the 
greatest  work  of  Harold  Schofield  was  accomplished, 
and  that  having  finished  the  work  that  God  had  given 
him  to  do,  he  was  then  called  to  his  eternal  reward. 
Who  yet  will  follow  him  as  he  followed  Christ  ? ”1 
Dr.  John  R.  Mott  in  “The  Decisive  Hour  of  Mis- 
sions ” has  well  said,  “ Every  grave  crisis  in  the  ex- 
pansion of  Christianity  which  has  been  successfully 
met,  has  been  met  by  the  faithfulness  of  Christ’s 
disciples  in  the  secret  place.  That  there  is  a necessary 
connection  between  the  prayers  of  Christians  on  the 
one  hand,  and  the  revealing  of  Christ’s  plans,  the 
raising  up  of  workers,  and  the  releasing  of  the  great 
spiritual  forces  of  the  Kingdom,  on  the  other  hand, 
is  a fact  as  clearly  established  as  any  fact  can  be 
established.  That  God  has  conditioned  so  largely  the 
extension,  the  progress  and  the  fruitfulness  of  His 
Kingdom  upon  the  faithfulness  and  loyalty  of  His 
children  in  prayer  is  at  the  same  time  one  of  the 
deepest  mysteries  and  one  of  the  most  wonderful 
realties.” 

1 See  Memorials  of  Harold  A.  Schofield. 


THE  SECRET  OF  POWER 


209 


To  the  great  missionaries  we  have  named  and  to  a 
host  of  others,  missionary  doctors  included,  prayer 
has  meant  more  than  interceding  for  the  energies  of 
the  living  God  to  be  applied  in  human  affairs.  It 
has  meant  and  it  always  means  “ practising  the  pres- 
ence of  God.”  “ The  great  secret  of  all  living,”  says 
Dr.  Henry  Churchill  King,  “ is  the  persistent  staying 
in  the  presence  of  the  best — the  great  facts,  the 
great  truths,  the  great  personalities,  the  one  great 
Person,  Christ.”  Is  it  not  the  daily,  expectant,  pas- 
sionate interest  in  not  only  the  best,  but  in  the  highest 
personality  ever  revealed  to  man  that  determines, 
ultimately,  our  significance  and  efficiency  in  life?  It 
is  this  relationship  between  the  Great  Physician  and 
His  follower  that  deepens  and  enriches  all  the  pro- 
cesses of  life. 

God  had  his  opportunity  through  Harold  Schofield. 
He  had  it  because  of  the  growing  intimacy  between 
them.  We  say  it  reverently,  that  “ when  God  and 
man  meet  in  intimacy  one  never  knows  what  may 
happen.”  Over  and  over  again  we  turn  to  his  journal.1 
It  is  as  wine  poured  forth  — a libation  upon  the  altar 
of  service  and  sacrifice.  We  read  entries  like  these: 

Lord  Jesus,  make  Thyself  to  me  a living,  bright  reality. 
Above  all,  His  cross  and  risen  life;  that  I may  really  enter 
into  the  glorious  gospel. 

Lord,  increase  my  faith,  that  I may  realize  more  each  day 
that  I am  redeemed  at  an  infinite  price,  and  belong  not  to 
myself,  but  only  to  Thee,  and  that  I may  reckon  myself  to  be 
“ dead  unto  sin  ” and  alive  only  to  Thee ! 

Enable  me  to  press  onward  every  hour  and  every  day,  and 
be  satisfied  with  nothing  short  of  constant  abiding  communion 
with  Thee  and  practically  living  Christ. 

Make  me  real.  Make  me  like  one  who  waits  for  his  Lord. 
Give  me  to  meditate  constantly  on  Thy  Word.  Do  make  Thy 
Word  continually  the  food  of  my  soul ! Give  me  a constant 
desire  at  least  to  do  Thy  will. 


1 Schofield’s  Journal. 


2io  MEDICAL  MISSIONS:  THE  TWOFOLD  TASK 


“ Our  Lord,  it  seems  to  me,”  writes  Kenneth 
Mackenzie,  “ would  have  us  learn  that  exactly  the 
same  sort  of  relationship  which  existed  between  the 
Man  Christ  Jesus  and  the  Father  in  Heaven,  is  open 
to  us.  He  was  ever  depending  upon  the  help  of  the 
Father,  was  ever  seeking  to  obey  the  Father,  and  was 
in  the  closest  communion  with  the  Father.  We  can 
only  live  as  fruitful  branches  when  we  are  in  vital 
contact  with  the  Vine.  . . . This  spiritual  food  can 
only  be  obtained  direct  from  Jesus.  I fall  into  temp- 
tation when  I get  up  late  in  the  morning  and  lose  my 
communion  with  God  over  His  Word.  Nothing,  no 
united  service,  or  even  family  prayers,  can  take  the 
place  of  this.” 

IV.  The  Power  of  the  Spirit  of  God 

When  the  Holy  Spirit  becomes  the  Pioneer  and 
Administrator  of  such  a missionary  movement  as  that 
set  forth  in  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles,  He  takes  personal 
charge,  searches  for  men,  finds  them,  separates  them 
for  the  task,  endues  them  with  power,  and  sends  them 
out  with  might  to  carry  forward  the  divine  order  of 
expansion.  It  was  so  in  the  case  of  Luke,  the  beloved 
physician  ; Livingstone,  the  explorer ; Post,  the  healer ; 
and  Kerr,  the  surgeon.  Sir  William  Ramsey  argues 
that  it  was  Luke  that  appeared  to  the  Apostle  Paul 
in  his  vision  at  Troas.  These  men  who  have  been 
mentioned,  and  a host  of  others,  have  been  instruments 
of  power  in  the  hands  of  God  because  they  had  the 
Spirit  of  Power. 

The  Holy  Spirit,  in  the  days  of  the  Apostolic 
Church,  outlined  the  missionary  program.  He  has 
continued  to  give  direction  to  it  and  put  meaning  into 
it.  He  seeks  to  express  Himself  through  men,  times, 
events,  brings  men  together  through  wonderful  provi- 
dences, administers  the  Kingdom  and  carries  forward 


THE  SECRET  OF  POWER 


21 1 


the  divine  purpose.  The  meeting  of  Stanley  and 
Livingstone  on  Lake  Tanganyike;  the  call  for  a mis- 
sionary physician  for  Lady  Li  in  Tientsin  at  the  very 
time  that  Mackenzie  and  his  little  group  were  praying 
for  an  opportunity  to  reach  the  Viceroy;  the  going 
of  Dr.  H.  N.  Allen  from  Shanghai  to  Seoul  in  time 
to  heal  Prince  Nin  and  thus  open  Korea  to  the  gospel, 
were  surely  events  which  occurred  under  the  leader- 
ship of  the  Holy  Spirit. 

The  message  may  be  inscribed  on  parchment  by  the 
medical  missionary,  as  in  the  case  of  Luke,  or  in  lines 
of  light  and  love  upon  the  sensitized  hearts  of  men, 
but  the  messenger  must  be  preceded  and  reenforced  by 
the  Holy  Spirit  — the  Promise  of  the  Father  — whose 
function  it  is  to  quicken  the  conscience,  fasten  con- 
viction, and  create  a sense  of  personal  responsibility 
to  Jesus  Christ.  Bishop  Warne  gives  this  remarkable 
testimony : “After  twenty  years  of  personal  experience 
and  close  observation,  I can  testify  that,  apart  from 
the  direct  work  of  the  Holy  Spirit  in  convicting  non- 
Christians  of  sin,  I have  never  known  the  conversion 
of  an  individual  to  the  real  Christian  life  and  ex- 
perience. Among  a pepole  whose  consciences  are 
educated  in  the  vagaries  of  the  Vedantic  philosophy 
of  India,  which  leaves  the  individual  without  a con- 
sciousness of  personal  and  moral  responsibility,  there 
is  absolutely  no  hope  except  in  the  awakening  to,  or 
the  creating  of,  a consciousness  of  sin  and  moral  re- 
sponsibility by  the  direct  work  of  the  Spirit  of  God. 
I have  seen  thousands  of  instances  of  awakening  and 
transformation  of  character  nothing  short  of  the 
miraculous.”1 

The  Rev.  J.  E.  Adams,  in  writing  from  Korea,  ex- 
presses the  conviction  of  such  medical  missionaries 


1 Quoted  by  Mott,  “ The  Decisive  Hour  of  Missions,”  p.  205. 


2i2  MEDICAL  MISSIONS:  THE  TWOFOLD  TASK 


as  Hepburn  and  Berry  of  Japan,  Kerr  and  Jackson 
of  China,  Scudder  and  Pennell  of  India,  when  he  says, 
“ I have  experienced,  tested  and  proved  the  sufficiency 
of  the  Holy  Spirit  in  the  work  of  the  conversion  of 
men  so  constantly  and  with  such  invariable  results, 
that  any  question  on  the  subject  has  long  ceased  to 
exist.  It  has  become  one  of  the  assumed  working 
postulates  of  life.  No  man  living  in  the  conditions 
in  which  I have  lived,  even  with  the  most  rudimentary- 
instincts  of  scientific  observation,  could  arrive  at  any 
other  conviction  than  that  the  gospel  is  the  power  of 
God.” 

The  entire  scheme  of  missionary  work  must  be 
energized  by  the  spirit  of  God.  If  a nation  is  con- 
fronted by  the  peril  of  becoming  materialistic,  so  is 
a Church,  and  so  is  a missionary.  The  danger  of 
reducing  Christian  work  to  a scientific  formula  and 
of  instituting  technique  for  the  dynamic  of  spiritual 
life  is  very  real.  Nothing  could  be  more  timely  than 
the  note  sounded  by  Bishop  David  H.  Greer,  in  his 
opening  address  before  a recent  Convention  of  the 
Diocese  of  New  York.  He  pointed  to  the  danger  of 
materialism  in  the  Church,  even  in  so  beautiful  a work 
as  social  service  and  its  varied  activities.  He  did 
not  for  a moment  discount  “the  social  uplift  and  the 
welfare  of  the  people,  the  betterment  and  improvement 
of  their  material  conditions ; with  better  houses  to  live 
in,  and  more  sanitary  and  helpful  surroundings.”  He 
pronounced  it  a good  and  much-needed  work,  but  that 
was  not  enough.  We  must  go  deeper.  He  went  on 
to  say: 

In  order  to  make  our  social  life,  whether  rich  or  poor,  a 
new  and  changed  life,  with  a new  spirit  in  it,  giving  a new 
perspective,  a new  direction  to  it,  giving  an  uplift — a “lift-up” 
— to  it,  something  more  is  needed  than  a new  and  changed 
physical  environment — something  that  will  go  more  deeply 


THE  SECRET  OF  POWER 


213 


down  into  the  life  itself,  to  change  and  transform  it  with  a 
spiritual  transformation. 

It  should  be  the  aim,  the  ultimate  aim  and  purpose,  of  social 
service  work  to  bring  it  into  touch,  into  quickened  touch,  with 
those  unseen  realities,  and  to  give  to  our  social  life  not  only 
a physical  but  a spiritual  transformation,  and  so  not  merely 
to  spread  it  out  and  over  a larger  and  smoother  flat  physical 
surface,  but  to  put  into  it  more  and  more  of  the  lifting 
power,  more  of  the  spiritual  power  of  Jesus  Christ. 

That  is  it.  Only  the  “ lifting  power”  of  Christ  can 
give  genuineness  and  permanence  to  social  srevice  or 
any  work  for  human  redemption.  St.  Paul’s,  in  Lon- 
don, is  no  more  a monument  to  Sir  Christopher  Wren, 
the  architect,  than  the  mission  hospital  in  Urumia  is  a 
memorial  to  the  life  of  one  who  for  a quarter  of  a cen- 
tury was  a builder  of  the  body  — the  cathedral  of  the 
soul  and  of  God.  More  arduous,  more  tactful,  more 
constructive  and  more  enduring  are  the  labors  of  such  a 
life  than  those  of  the  architect.  The  one  builds  of  stone 
and  steel  that  are  not  proof  against  the  gnawing  tooth 
of  time;  the  other  with  materials  that  will  abide  be- 
cause wrought  into  character  which  will  survive  the 
corroding  acids  of  a sin-cursed  world. 

The  Master  of  All  Missionaries 

Since  the  days  of  the  Great  Apostle  to  the  Gentiles 
men  have  been  seeking  to  answer  the  question,  What 
is  the  supreme  and  final  need  of  our  age  ? The  answer 
is  simple  and  yet  all  comprehensive.  It  is  Jesus 
Christ,  the  Son  of  the  living  God,  who  is  the  supreme 
and  final  answer  to  the  need  or  ours  or  any  age.  All 
faith  must  be  centered  in  Him,  all  work  related  to 
His  work,  and  all  life  vitalized  by  His  life.  Our 
Christ  is  imperial  in  personality,  in  faith,  in  authority 
and  in  power.  An  imperial  Christ  must  be  represented 
by  an  imperial  gospel  which  lays  its  claims  upon  every 


214  MEDICAL  MISSIONS:  THE  TWOFOLD  TASK 


man,  upon  all  that  is  in  man  and  upon  all  mankind 
His  plan  of  redemption  is  world-wide  in  its  conception, 
terms  of  grace,  inspiration  to  man’s  faith,  and  applica- 
tion to  man’s  deepest  and  most  urgent  need.  His  is  a 
royal  decree  which  commands  the  entire  membership 
of  His  Church  and  places  obligation  upon  them  to 
teach  all  nations,  to  heal  the  sick,  and  to  be  His  faith- 
ful witnesses  even  to  the  laying  down  of  life  itself. 

In  the  Christian  civilization  which  we  would  build, 
it  is  Jesus  Christ  who  must  be  made  preeminent.  It 
is  not  science  which  must  have  the  supreme  place,  nor 
philosophy,  nor  ethics,  nor  even  morality,  but  Christ. 
There  is  no  civilization  worth  speaking  of  without 
Christianity,  and  there  is  no  Christianity  without  the 
living  Christ  — the  central  figure,  the  creative  force, 
the  driving  power  and  organizing  personality  of  the 
physical  and  spiritual  universe.  Christianity  without 
Christ  is  spurious,  fraudulent  and  bankrupt  in  morals. 
Christianity  which  centers  its  faith  and  loyalty  in 
Jesus  Christ  tends  constantly  to  renew  its  youth  and 
its  strength.  This  is  not  by  virtue  of  its  inherent 
power,  for  it  has  none  of  itself,  but  it  is  by  a return  to 
the  divine  source  of  its  life.  Therein  lies  its  perma- 
nency, its  vitality,  and  its  ultimate  hope  of  conquering 
the  world.  No  missionary  can  permanently  maintain 
his  faith,  or  carry  on  his  work,  without  a constant 
and  prayerful  personal  relationship  to  Him  who  is  the 
soul  of  Christianity. 

“ His  was  a pure  life  of  consecration  to  the  highest 
ideals,  and  an  absolutely  unselfish  devotion  to  duty,” 
was  the  comment  upon  the  life  of  Dr.  J.  P.  Cochran 
by  one  who  knew  him  well.  “ Here  was  a man  who 
had  put  aside  the  alluring  ambitions  of  a most  promis- 
ing professional  career,  and  was  living  day  by  day, 
and  every  day,  the  Christ-life  amid  the  perils  and 
privations  of  fanatical,  heathen  Persia.  Nothing  but 


THE  SECRET  OF  POWER 


215 


the  teaching  and  example  of  Christ  can  explain  such 
a life ; and  he  had  more  of  His  spirit  than  any  man  I 
have  ever  known.”  It  was  the  surrender  of  a brilliant 
career  in  the  United  States  for  a life  of  constant  toil 
and  imminent  peril  in  a distant  field ; but  there  was 
neither  hesitation  nor  mental  reservation.  He  was 
not  conscious  of  it,  but  it  was  that  dedication  of  man- 
hood, of  professional  skill  and  of  a great  soul  to  a 
Cause,  which  is  always  significant  of  true  greatness 
and  opens  the  way  for  God  to  do  a mighty  work.  It 
was  the  devotion  of  his  life  to  Jesus  Christ.  It  was 
such  a surrender  as  that  made  by  the  Apostle  when, 
in  undertaking  the  conquest  of  the  Roman  empire, 
he  desired  that  “ in  nothing  I shall  be  put  to  shame,  but 
that  with  all  boldness,  as  always,  so  now  also  Christ 
shall  be  magnified  in  my  body,  whether  by  life  or  by 
death.  . . . For  me  to  live  is  Christ  and  to  die  is 

gain.” 

Devotion  to  Jesus  Christ  has  ever  been  the  striking 
characteristic  not  only  of  the  great  missionaries  but  of 
the  leaders  of  the  national  Church  in  all  mission  lands. 
Dr.  Isaac  T.  Headland  in  “ China’s  New  Day”  gives 
an  illustration  of  heroic  devotion  to  Christ  on  the  part 
of  a Chinese  Christian  physician,  one  of  many  such 
that  are  being  produced  in  China  through  the  Christian 
home,  Christian  education  and  medical  missions.  To 
have  produced  one  man  like  Wang  is  worth  the  invest- 
ment of  any  man’s  life. 

“ One  of  the  first  graduates  from  the  school  of 
medicine  in  Peking  University  was  Dr.  Wang.  When 
the  Boxer  trouble  reached  Peking  he  was  arrested, 
his  little  son  with  him.  The  Boxers  were  ordered  to 
put  to  death  any  one  who  would  not  give  up  his  faith 
and  burn  incense  to  the  Gods  in  the  temple.  But 
educated  men  were  few  in  China,  and  so  they  said  to 
him : — 


216  MEDICAL  MISSIONS : THE  TWOFOLD  TASK 


‘ Dr.  Wang,  you  are  an  educated  man ; we  do  not 
want  to  put  you  to  death,  but  we  have  no  liberty  in 
the  matter.  You  go  with  us  and  burn  some  incense 
and  we  will  let  you  go.’ 

‘ No,’  said  he,  ‘ I will  not  burn  incense.’ 

* Well,  we  want  to  make  it  easy  for  you,’  they  con- 
tinued, ‘ you  just  get  some  one  to  go  and  burn  incense 
in  your  place  and  it  will  be  all  right.’ 

* No,  I will  not  get  any  one  to  burn  incense  for  me,’ 
he  persisted. 

‘ Well,  we  will  get  some  one  to  burn  incense  for 
you,’  they  continued.  ‘ You  just  go  over  to  the  temple 
with  us.’ 

‘ No,’  he  answered,  ‘ I will  not  do  that.’ 

‘ Then,’  they  continued,  ‘ we  must  kill  you.’ 

‘You  may  kill  me’  he  answered,  ‘but  I will  not 
worship  your  gods.  How  could  I look  my  teachers  in 
the  face,  if  I burned  incense  in  the  temple,  to  say  noth- 
ing of  my  Christ?  We  are  four  generations  of  Chris- 
tions,  my  grandfather,  my  father,  myself  and  this  little 
boy.  Do  you  think  I would  allow  this  child  to  see 
his  father  deny  his  Saviour?  Kill  me  if  you  will,  but 
I will  not  deny  my  Lord.’  They  ran  him  through 
with  a spear.” 


After  all  that  has  been  said  in  these  pages  about 
the  missionary  himself,  his  call,  his  motive,  his  task, 
his  field  of  labor  and  the  power  without  which  he 
cannot  perform  his  task,  does  the  subject  not  carry  us 
back  to  the  one  great  Master  Workman?  He  is  the 
personal  dynamic — the  inspiration  of  it  all.  “ Ye  did 
not  choose  me,  but  I chose  you,  and  appointed  you, 
that  ye  should  go  and  bear  fruit,  and  that  your  fruit 
should  abide;  that  whatsoever  ye  shall  ask  of  the 
Father  in  my  name,  He  may  give  it  you.” 


THE  SECRET  OF  POWER 


217 


In  commenting  upon  the  intercessory  prayer  of 
Jesus,  the  author  of  “Rational  Living”  points  out  the 
two  major  requests,  the  first  for  the  divine  associa- 
tion, the  second  for  a God-given  work.  The  followers 
of  Jesus  were  to  be  kept  in  the  Father’s  name,  in  the 
divine  association;  and  sent  into  the  world,  as  Jesus 
was  sent  into  the  world,  on  a divine  mission.  “No 
life  can  fail  in  charcter,  in  influence  or  in  happiness,” 
says  the  author,  “ for  whom  these  two  requests  are 
granted.  To  find  the  Great  Companion,  and  the  work 
Fie  gives — this  is  the  sum  of  all.”1  A God-given  work 
and  the  Great  Companion — in  receiving  the  one  we 
find  the  other.  Is  it  not  true  ? Ask  Peter  Parker  who 
stands  before  China’s  frowning  rock,  the  Gibraltar  of 
heathenism ; Loftis  who  lays  down  his  life  in  the 
mountain  passes  of  Tibet;  Grenfell  in  his  hospital  ship 
on  the  icebound  coast  of  Labrador;  Post  toiling  under 
the  fierce  and  fiery  rays  of  the  Syrian  sun ; Clara 
Swain  who  lifts  the  curtained  door  to  the  zenanas  of 
India ; and  Dr.  Floward  who  wins  the  confidence  of 
China’s  leading  Viceroy,  and  the  women  of  his  court. 
From  every  mission  hospital,  and  from  every  mission 
field,  comes  the  testimony  to  the  presence  and  the 
fellowship  of  the  Great  Companion. 

We  cannot  close  this  book  more  fittingly  than  in 
the  words  of  the  pioneer  medical  missionary  to  the 
unreached  millions  of  Africa.  He  had  found  the 
Great  Companion,  and,  in  the  finding,  had  discovered 
himself  and  his  task.  That  Companion,  too,  was  a 
missionary  and  a physician,  and  His  task — to  heal  the 
open  sore  of  the  world. 

In  1872,  near  the  close  of  his  life,  just  four  days 
after  Henry  M.  Stanley  bade  him  farewell  at  Unyan- 
yembe,  Livingstone  made  this  entry  in  his  journal: 


1 H.  C.  King,  Rational  Living. 


218  MEDICAL  MISSIONS:  THE  TWOFOLD  TASK 


“19th  March.  Birthday. 

“My  Jesus,  my  King,  my  life,  my  All;  I again  dedicate  my 
whole  self  to  Thee.  Accept  me,  and  grant,  O gracious  Father, 
that  ere  this  year  is  gone  I may  finish  my  task.  In  Jesus’ 
name  I ask  it.  Amen.  So  let  it  be. 


David  Livingstone.” 


APPENDICES 


APPENDIX  A 


SOME  IMPORTANT  QUESTIONS  ANSWERED 

i.  What  constitutes  the  call  to  medical  missionary  work? 

The  need. 

Ability  to  meet  the  need. 

Inadequate  supply  of  physicians. 

Urgency  of  the  task. 

No  providential  hindrances. 

The  voice  of  the  Church. 

The  Divine  command — Heal  the  sick. 


2.  What  are  the  qualifications  cf  a candidate? 
Robust  health 
Wiry  constitution 
Good  digestion 
Ability  to  sleep 


Physical 


f A trained  mind 
j Good  memory 

Mental  ■}  Capacity  for  language 

I Ability  to  impart 
Alertness 


Spiritual 


Strong  faith  in  God 
Love  of  men 
• Hopefulness 
Prayerfulness 
Sympathy 


Traits  of 
Character 


Patience 

Absence  of  worry 
Thoroughness 
Enthusiasm 
Sense  of  humor 
Resourcefulness 


221 


222 


APPENDIX  A 


3.  To  whom  does  the  candidate  make  application  for  accept- 

ance? 

Application  should  me  made  through  the  Candidate 
Secretary  of  the  Board  of  Missions  of  the  denomina- 
tion of  which  the  candidate  is  a member.  He  will 
give  information  concerning  necessary  preparation. 
Write  also  to  the  Candidate  Secretary  of  the  Stu- 
dent Volunteer  Movement,  25  Madison  Ave.,  New 
York  City,  regarding  the  specific  needs  of  the  various 
Boards. 

4.  What  is  the  age  limit? 

Candidates  over  thirty-five  are  rarely  accepted  for  any 
field  on  account  of  difficulty  in  acquiring  a new 
language  (especially  those  of  the  Far  East)  and  of 
adjustment  to  climate  and  people.  Missionaries  are 
not  sent  out  under  twenty-five,  as  a rule. 

5.  Who  decides  upon  the  field? 

The  Secretaries  and  Executive  Committee  of  the 
Board.  Preferences  are  considered,  but  the  special 
qualifications  of  the  candidate  and  exigencies  of  the 
work  are  the  deciding  factors. 

6.  What  term  of  service  is  required? 

A life  term.  The  great  missionaries  have  been  those 
who  gave  themselves  without  reservation  for  life. 
Special  short  term  agreements  may  be  entered  into  for 
special  reasons.  The  first  period  of  service  varies 
with  the  Board  and  the  field.  It  may  be  from  three 
to  seven  years. 

7.  Should  the  medical  missionary  go  out  single  or  married? 

For  pioneer  fields  it  is  best  to  send  out  single  men  for 
short  terms.  The  reasons  for  this  are  obvious. 
Otherwise,  most  Boards  prefer  to  send  out  married 
men. 

8.  What  are  the  climatic  conditions  to  be  considered? 

Effect  of  altitude,  as  in  Mexico,  Peru,  Bolivia,  and 
Tibet;  tropical  sea  levels,  damp  and  hot,  as  on  the 
northeast  coast  of  Brazil,  and  the  East  and  West 
coasts  of  Africa;  the  enervating  climate  of  southern 
India,  the  Straits  Settlements  and  central  and  south- 
eastern China. 

9.  What  directions  are  given  concerning  language  study? 

No  foreign  language  is  easily  mastered,  though  Spanish 
and  Portuguese  in  South  America,  and  many  of  the 


APPENDIX  A 


223 


tribal  languages  of  Central  Africa,  are  the  most 
readily  acquired.  The  mastery  of  Japanese,  Chinese, 
Arabic  and  the  vernaculars  of  India,  however,  re- 
quire diligent  and  protracted  study. 

jo.  "Who  makes  the  financial  arrangements  and  what  are 
they? 

The  provision  is  made  by  the  Boards.  It  is  simply  a 
sum  sufficient  to  meet  the  necessities  of  life  abroad, 
varying  as  to  field,  years  of  service,  size  of  family,  and 
special  demands.  A house  free  of  rent  is  usually  fur- 
nished, and  expense  of  travel  to  and  from  the  field. 
The  Secretary  or  Treasurer  of  each  Board  will  fur- 
nish details. 

11.  Does  the  Board  provide  the  medical  and  surgical  outfit? 

As  a rule  it  does,  by  special  appropriation  before  the 
missionary  leaves,  or  it  turns  over  an  outfit  to  him  on 
reaching  the  field.  He  should  have  a minor  operating 
case  of  his  own. 

12.  What  books  should  the  medical  missionary  take? 

Those  that  he  would  most  need  at  home,  with  the  addi- 
tion of  a few  special  medical  books  treating  of  the 
diseases  peculiar  to  his  field.  He  can  best  build  up 
his  library  by  adding  to  it  from  time  to  time  as  the 
needs  of  his  work  demand.  He  should  take  at  least 
one  medical  and  surgical  journal,  and  include  a few 
choice  books  of  a general  character.  A compact  ency- 
clopedia is  invaluable. 

13.  Can  research  work  be  done  on  the  field? 

The  mission  fields  are  rich  in  material,  and  every  med- 
ical missionary  should  be  supplied  with  microscope, 
apparatus  and  reagents  for  original  investigation  as 
well  as  diagnosis. 

14.  What  is  the  relation  of  the  doctor  to  the  mission? 

His  relation  to  the  mission  is  that  of  a regular  mission- 
ary, sympathetic  with  all  its  problems,  ready  to  bear 
his  share  of  responsibilities  and  to  contribute  of  faith 
and  prayer  to  the  cause  which  inspires  all  alike. 

15.  What  is  the  relation  of  the  doctor  to  the  natives? 

That  of  a brother  in  sympathy  and  of  a father  in  coun- 
sel. He  more  than  any  ether  may  be  looked  to  for 
aid  in  times  of  suffering  and  distress.  This  consti- 


2J4 


APPENDIX  A 


tutes  his  golden  opportunity  to  minister  to  body,  mind 
and  soul. 

16.  What  provision  is  made  for  yearly  rest  Intervals  and  for 

furloughs? 

Arrangements  are  made  by  the  Board  for  a rest  of 
several  weeks  during  each  summer.  The  furlough 
home  at  the  end  of  from  three  to  ten  years  varies 
from  six  or  eight  months  to  a year  and  a half. 

17.  How  can  the  furlough  be  utilized  to  the  best  advantage? 

By  planning  at  the  outset  so  to  divide  the  time  as  to 
secure  a maximum  of  rest,  study  and  opportunity  to 
reach  the  medical  and  lay  constituency  which  should 
be  interested  in  his  particular  field.  A course  in 
Bible  study  at  some  high-grade  Bible  Training  School 
would  give  spiritual  refreshment  and  qualify  for  deal- 
ing with  the  spiritual  needs  of  men  and  women. 


APPENDIX  B 


WORLD  STATISTICS  OF  MEDICAL  MISSIONS 

The  following  statistical  tables  are  adapted  from 

the  “World  Statistics  of  Christian  Missions”,  1916: 

Medical : 

Foreign  physicians — men  743 

Foreign  physicians — women  309 

Foreign  nurses 537 

Native  physicians  230 

Trained  assistants — men 968 

Trained  assistants — women 1,138 

Dispensary  treatments 8,833,759 

Dispensaries 1,234 

Individuals  treated  in  dispensaries  and  hospitals  3,107,755 

Hospitals 703 

Beds 17,364 

In-patients 253,633 

Major  operations  36,044 

Fees  received  $446,164 

Philanthropic : 

Orphanages : 

Institutions 245 

Inmates 9,736 

Leper  homes : 

Institutions 39 

Inmates 1,880 


225 


226 


APPENDIX  B 


SUMMARIES  OF  PROTESTANT 


STAFF 


AREAS 

Foreign  Physicians — 
Men 

Foreign  Physicians — 
Women 

Foreign  Nurses 

Native  Physicians 

Trained  Assistants — 
Men 

Trained  Assistants — 
j Women 

Grand  Totals 

1 

i 

743 

2 

309 

3 

537 

4 

230 

5 

968 

6 

1 138 

Japan  (including  Formosa) 

o 

11 

1 

5 

26 

24 

68 

Chosen  (Korea) 

3 

31 

f. 

5 

12 

15 

6 

< hina 

4 

. 323 

92 

127 

102 

362 

327 

Siam  and  French  Iudo-Chinn 

5 

] 3 

— 

— 

— 

— 

— 

British  Malaysia 

6 

i 

i 

1 

— 

— 

— 

122 

i r>9 

108 

51 

289 

461 

Ce'lon 

8 

i 

2 

2 

4 

Persia 

9 

13 

6 

7 

i 

21 

23 

Turkish  Empire  (excepting  Syria) 

10 

27 

10 

37 

7 

36 

36 

Syria  (including  Palestine) 

11 

25 

4 

62 

1 1 

12 

19 

Dutch  East  Indies 

12 

8 

2 

17 

3 

51 

91 

Philippine  Islands 

13 

14 

2 

1 

9 

n 

65 

Australia  (Aborigines  and  Chinese) 

14 

— 

— 

1 

— 

— 

i 

Melanesia  (excepting  Dutch  New  Guinea) 

15 

10 

— 

7 

— 

9 

i 

M icronesia 

16 

— 

— 

— 

— 

— 

— 

Polynesia  (excepting  Hawaiian  Islands) 

17 

— 

— 

— 

— 

— 

— 

North-enst  Africa  (Egypt  to  Somaliland) 

18 

17 

2 

53 

6 

46 

i 

North-west  Africa  (Tripoli  to  Morocco) 

19 

5 

1 

2 

— 

— 

— 

Western  Africa  (Senegal  to  Nigeria) 

20 

19 

3 

12 

— 

8 

i 

South-west  Africa  (Kamerun  to  German  South- 
west Africa)  

21 

26 

5 

25 

_ 

12 

i 

South  Africa  (British  Union  with  Basutoland  and 
Swaziland) 

22 

6 

2 

8 



10 

10 

Southern  Central  Africa  (Five  British  Protecto- 
rates)   

23 

15 

_ 

11 

_ 

15 

3 

East  Africa  (British,  German,  Portuguese) 

24 

19 

1 

23 

— 

38 

10 

Madagascar  and  Mauritius 

25 

2 

— 

2 

i 

2 

4 

Argentine  Republic 

26 

2 

— 

— 

— 

— 

— 

Chile 

27 

.3 

9 

Uruguay  

28 

— 

— 

— 

— 

— 

Paraguay  

2» 

— 

— 

— 

— 

— 

— 

Brazil 

30 

— 

— 

3 

— 

— 

— 

31 

2 

— 

3 

— 

— 

— 

32 







— 

Central  America  and  Panama 

33 

.3 

1 

— 

— 

— 

— 

34 

5 

4 

— 

— 

— 

l esser  Antilles 

35 

— 

— 

— 

— 

Porto  Rico 

36 

3 

3 

— 

— 

— 

— 

Haiti  and  Santo  Domingo 

37 

1 

1 

— 

— 

— 

— 

38 



— 

— 

— 

— 

— 

United  States,  including  Alaska  (Indians  and 
Eskimos) 

39 

10 

2 

8 

i 

2 

2 

United  States,  excepting  Hawaiian  Islands  (Asi- 
atic Immigrants) 

40 

1 







— 

— 

Hawaiian  Islands  (Hawaiians  and  Asiatic  Immi- 
grants)- 

41 

— 

- 

— 

— 

— 

- 

a Since  many  Societies  do  not  collect  data  under  this  head,  this  total  is  incomplete, 
b North  American  Indians. 


APPENDIX  B 


227 


MEDICAL  MISSIONS  * 


DISPENSARIES  AND  HOSPITAT  S 


Dispensary 

Treatments 

Dispensaries 

Individuals  Treated 
in  Dispensaries 
and  Hospitals 

Hospitals 

Beds 

In-Patients 

Major  Operations 

c 

& 

3 

V 

> 

> 

1 7 

8 

9 

10 

11 

12 

13 

14 

a8  833  789 

1 234 

u3  107  755 

703 

al7  364 

a253  633 

a36  044 

$u416  164 

200  429 

8 

73  696 

10 

347 

6 731 

2 145 

21  986 

188  387 

31 

99  794 

20 

30  J 

3 172 

182 

25  757 

2 896  002 

386 

1 082  337 

265 

8 104 

117  251 

13  074 

132  917 

27  063 

20 

6 645 

10 

278 

1 759 

— 

31  501 

3 584  617 

376 

1 281  361 

183 

3 348 

57  765 

13  899 

90  912 

25  821 

9 

13  440 

4 

2 

2 879 

26 

— 

91  989 

17 

11  833 

10 

500 

3 399 

1 296 

9 3b5 

262  425 

28 

94  952 

22 

385 

9 550 

2 279 

9 995 

143  695 

30 

93  996 

18 

699 

8 736 

1 691 

24  498 

96  039 

31 

19  674 

31 

1 076 

5 529 

— 

855 

94  465 

18 

28  616 

10 

205 

4 691 

— 

26  712 



1 

— 

1 

— 

— 

— 

. 

2 500 

7 

1 350 

5 

30 

300 

— 

— 

4 500 

1 

— 

— 

— 

— 

— 

— 

145  679 

21 

76  406 

11 

736 

15  684 

414 

28  393 

91  505 

13 

120 

3 

15 

120 

— 

2 839 

113  046 

45 

48  578 

8 

103 

804 

19 

9 862 

356  865 

57 

28  239 

23 

218 

2 466 

92 

5 268 

8 909 

6 

4 870 

6 

145 

1 334 

147 

2 571 

85  446 

37 

39  680 

15 

85 

1 054 

3 

2 439 

216  806 

32 

16  316 

16 

532 

4 895 

712 

4 281 

29  426 

3 

11  998 

2 

22 

814 

— 

— 

3 175 

3 

— 

1 

— 

— 

— 

— 

1 825 

3 

1 825 

1 

14 

— 



9 311 

720 

5 

4 

720 

1 

8 

— 

. 

5 000 

1 

1 800 

— 

— 

— 

— 

— 

— 

2 

— 

— 

— 

— 

— 

— 

615 

3 

615 

1 

12 

109 

— 

3 342 

84  602 

8 

15  633 

3 

— 

3 633 

— 

2 360 

53  459 

9 

41  459 

3 

131 

733 

— 

— 

18  749 

14 

11  772 

11 

59 

172 

65 

— 

2 

— 

— 

— 

— 

- 

. 

Table  taken  from  World  Statistics  of  Christian  Missions,  1916. 


228 


APPENDIX  B 


MEDICAL  MISSIONS  OF  THE  PROTESTANT  MIS- 
SIONARY SOCIETIES  OF  CANADA  AND 
THE  UNITED  STATES 

The  Foreign  Missions  Year  Book  of  North  America, 
1919,  reports  that  the  Canadian  Societies  have  in  the 
non-Christian  world  43  men  and  25  women  physi- 
cians, with  32  hospitals,  68  dispensaries  and  512,888 
treatments  for  the  year. 

The  societies  with  headquarters  in  the  United  States 
are  credited  under  the  Latin  American  work  with  20 
men  and  6 women  physicians,  having  15  hospitals,  25 
dispensaries  and  65,658  treatments.  In  the  Non- 
Christian  world  they  are  credited  with  360  men  and 
165  women  physicians,  with  285  hospitals,  542  dis- 
pensaries, having  3,452,098  treatments. 

This  gives  a total  for  Canada  and  the  United  States 
of  423  men,  196  women  physicians,  with  332  hospitals, 
635  dispensaries,  having  4,030,644  treatments  in  a year. 

NURSES’  TRAINING  SCHOOLS 

According  to  the  latest  data  available  the  Missionary 
Societies  of  Canada  and  of  the  United  States  conduct 
the  following  Nurses’  Training  Schools: 


Students 

Schools 

Men 

Women 

TOTALS 

32 

152 

388 

Korea 

3 

3 

45 

China 

19 

133 

180 

Philippine  Islands  

4 

6 

93 

India 

5 

10 

64 

Mexico 

1 

0 

6 

Note:  In  addition  to  these  there  are  many  Nurses’  Train- 
ing Classes  which  do  not  attempt  to  give  full  nurses’  training. 


APPENDIX  C 


FINDINGS  OF  TPIE  MEDICAL  CONFERENCE 
OF  THE  WORLD  MISSIONARY 
CONFERENCE 

(Edinburgh,  1910.) 

The  sectional  meeting  of  medical  delegates,  medical 
missionaries  and  other  medical  practitioners  interested 
in  the  medical  aspects  of  missionary  work,  desire  to 
represent  to  the 

COMMISSION  ON  “THE  HOME  BASE  OF  MISSIONS” 

(1)  That  there  should  be  a definite  Medical  Department  in 
connection  with  all  foreign  Missionary  Societies;  that  this 
department  should  deal  with  all  questions  relating  to  the 
physical  fitness  and  the  preservation  of  the  health  of  mission- 
aries, their  wives,  and  families;  that  it  should  be  under  the 
supervision  of  an  honorary  Medical  Board,  composed  of  med- 
ical missionaries  and  other  medical  practitioners,  some  of 
whom,  at  least,  should  have  had  foreign  medical  experience ; 
and  that  there  should  be  a medical  officer,  preferably  salaried, 
who  should  deal  with  all  such  questions,  under  the  general 
direction  of  the  Medical  Board. 

It  is  further  suggested  that,  in  the  case  of  the  smaller 
Societies,  there  might  possibly  be  one  Medical  Board  and 
Medical  Officer  representing  several  Societies. 

(2)  Also,  that  there  is  urgent  need  for  the  collection  and 
systematic  recording  by  the  Home  Medical  Base,  or  their 
medical  representative,  of  such  statistics  as  relate  to  the 
health  of  foreign  missionaries,  including  causes  of  death  or 
retirement. 

That  deductions  obtained  from  these  and  other  data  will 
have  an  important  bearing  upon  such  problems  as — 

(1)  The  frequency  and  duration  of  furlough  and  holi- 
days. 


229 


230 


APPENDIX  C 


(2)  The  necessity  for  issuing  or  revising  of  health  regu- 

lations from  time  to  time. 

(3)  The  insurance  of  lives  of  missionaries  against  sick- 

ness, breakdown,  and  death. 

(4)  The  need  for  missionaries  to  receive  elementary  med- 

ical instruction  as  to  preservation  of  their  health 
abroad. 

This  latter  statement  is  emphasized  by  the  fact  that,  as  a 
result  of  a recent  investigation,  under  the  aegis  of  the  Associa- 
tion of  Medical  Officers  of  Missionary  Societies,  of  the  causes 
of  death  in  missionaries  who  have  died  since  1890,  over  60  per 
cent,  were  victims  to  the  so-called  preventable  diseases,  against 
which  many  safeguards  may  be  taken. 

Such  information  will  also  bring  into  prominence  the  chief 
diseases  in  various  countries,  and  risks  to  health  which  mis- 
sionaries have  to  face,  and  the  best  methods  of  combating 
such  conditions. 

The  following  Report  is  submitted  because  of  the  great 
importance  of  the  information  it  contains  and  its  possible 
value  to  Missionary  Societies: 

A REPORT 

On  the  need  of  the  Home  Base  ( Medical  Department)  for 
the  Systematic  Collection  and  Record  of  Statistics,  such 
as  relate  to  the  Health  of  Foreign  Missionaries. 

By  G.  Basil  Price,  M.D.,  M.R.C.P.,  D.P.H., 

Hon.  Sec.  Association  of  Medical  Officers  of  Missionary  So- 
cieties ; Physician  to  the  London  Missionary  Society. 

Synopsis 

1.  The  Need  for  the  Collection  and  Systematic  Recording  by 

the  Home  Medical  Base  of  such  Statistics  as  relate  to  the 
health  of  Foreign  Missionaries. 

2.  The  Data  of  Greatest  Value. 

3.  The  Practical  Application  of  such  Information- 

fa)  More  Uniform  Series  of  Regulations. 

(b)  Furloughs. 

(c)  Important  Information  to  be  brought  into  Prom- 

inence, particularly  relating  to  Safeguards  to  Health. 

4.  Extract  from  Report  on  Causes  of  Death  amongst  Mission- 

aries. 

Conclusion. 


APPENDIX  C 


231 


It  probably  needs  no  argument  to  demonstrate  the  value  of 
statistics  in  relation  to  any  subject  of  investigation,  and  that 
the  Commissions  agree  on  such  a statement  is  shown  by  the 
valued  contributions  on  Mission  Statistics  by  Dr.  James  S. 
Dennis,  of  New  York,  towards  the  work  of  Commission  I.; 
but  that  statistics  as  relate  to  the  health  of  foreign  mission- 
aries are  urgently  needed,  has  still  to  be  generally  acknowl- 
edged and  systematically  collected. 

1.  The  Need  for  the  Systematic  Collection  and  Recording 
of  Such  Statistics  as  Relate  to  the  Health  of 
Foreign  Missionaries 

In  reviewing  the  proceedings  and  work  of  the  Association 
of  Medical  Officers  of  Missionary  Societies  during  the  last  six 
years — that  is  to  say,  since  its  foundation — the  fact  emerges 
that  with  regard  to  many  of  the  problems  which  intimately 
concern  the  physical  welfare  of  foreign  missionaries,  judg- 
ment and  decision  had  often  to  be  suspended  owing  to  the 
paucity  of  statistics  obtainable,  and  the  insufficiency  and  in- 
adequacy of  those  collected. 

This  lack  of  material  on  which  to  base  opinions  was  not 
due  to  want  of  effort  in  attempting  to  collect  it,  but  was  due 
to  the  fact  that,  with  one  exception,  none  of  the  large  Mis- 
sionary Societies  had  sufficiently  organized  Medical  Depart- 
ments, or  had  during  their  long  and  historic  existence  deemed 
the  subject  of  the  collection  of  vital  statistics  in  relation  to 
foreign  missionaries  of  sufficient  importance  to  even  merit 
attention. 

Though  the  broader  views  now  held  are  gradually  produc- 
ing a change  in  regard  to  this  subject,  the  members  of  the 
Association  have  still  a heritage  of  ignorance  to  contend  with 
on  this  subject,  which  is  the  foundation  basis  of  the  policies 
of  Insurance  Societies  in  relation  to  ordinary  lives,  and  from 
which  expectations  of  lives  and  all  other  details  are  deduced. 

It  is  therefore  incumbent  to  emphasize  the  urgent  need  for 
the  systematic  collection  of  all  facts  and  figures  as  relate  to 
the  health  of  foreign  missionaries. 

It  is  here  suggested  that  this  duty  is  a necessary  corollary 
of  the  work  of  the  Home  Medical  Base,  and  should  be  initi- 
ated and  carried  out  under  the  supervision  of,  or,  in  the  case 
of  smaller  Societies,  by  the  Medical  Officers  of  those  Societies. 

Individual  effort  has,  at  times,  been  made  towards  this  end, 
as  in  the  case  of  Dr.  Harry  Guinness,  whose  statistics  col- 


232 


APPENDIX  C 


lected  nearly  twenty  years  ago  were  of  considerable  service 
to  Insurance  Societies,  when  accepting  the  insurance  proposals 
of  missionaries,  but  such  records  have  been  due  to  private 
enterprise,  and  often  remain  inaccessible  or  unknown,  and 
have  not  been  due  to  a definite  and  considered  policy  of  a 
Society’s  Medical  Department. 

The  only  recent  attempt  at  generally  collecting  such  records 
was  made  (1909-10)  under  the  authorization  of  the  Associa- 
tion of  Medical  Officers  already  referred  to,  and  certain  facts 
and  figures  of  this  Report  will  subsequently  be  quoted. 

It  is  true  one  Society  has  collected  concerning  its  mission- 
aries a great  deal  of  statistical  material,  but  the  statistics 
were  not  until  lately  co-ordinated  under  the  aegis  of  one 
department,  and  the  facts  relating  to  the  past,  which  are  so 
important  for  the  guidance  of  its  medical  advisers,  are  not 
easily  accessible. 

2.  The  Data  That  Are  of  Greatest  Value 

(a)  To  register  with  regard  to  every  missionary — 

(1)  Age  at  death  or  retirement. 

(2)  Certified  cause  of  death  or  retirement. 

(3)  Spheres  of  work  and  position  held  (medical,  or- 

dained, lay,  pioneer,  etc.). 

(4)  In  cases  of  premature  breakdown,  retirement,  or 

death,  to  state  probable  causes,  whether  prevent- 
able, or  contracted  from  the  nature  of  the  loca- 
tion, work,  or  intercourse  with  natives. 

(5)  State  the  number  of  effective  years  of  service 

abroad. 

(6)  Whether  elementary  medical  instruction  had  been 

received  on  health  and  hygiene  matters,  and 
whether  systematic  measures  were  carried  out  for 
the  preservation  of  health  under  unhealthy  con- 
ditions of  climate  and  country. 

(b)  By  means  of  Health  Sheets,  to  be  returned  annually  or 

periodically  on  return  home  to  ascertain — 

(1)  Sick  leave  required  year  by  year. 

(2)  Incidence  of  disease  (especially  climatic  disease), 

accident,  or  record  of  operation.  Cause  and  char- 
acter of  illness. 

(3)  Annual  holiday  each  year  and  whether  utilized. 


APPENDIX  C 


233 


(c)  To  have  collated  the  climatic,  sanitary  conditions  of  each 
mission  station,  character  of  water  and  food  supply, 
and  conditions  of  housing. 

The  Practical  Application  of  Such  Information 

It  may  well  be  urged  that  the  mere  accumulation  of  such 
statistics,  unless  they  are  of  practical  utility,  would  result 
merely  in  wasted  labor. 

It  must  be  remembered  that  the  collection  of  corresponding 
data  in  other  realms  have  formed  the  basis  of  enquiry  for 
more  than  one  Governmental  Commission;  equally  important 
are  such  enquiries  in  relation  to  medical  matters. 

It  is  believed  that  with  gradually  accumulating  reliable  in- 
formation as  suggested,  the  following  beneficial  results  would 
be  gained : — 

(a)  The  issue  of  a more  uniform  series  of  regulations  from 
all  the  Societies,  both  as  regards  the  standard  of  acceptance  of 
missionary  candidates  and  in  dealing  with  missionaries. 

(b)  Furloughs. — The  relation  of  furloughs  to  health  would 
be  established,  and  lead  to  more  uniform  regulations  for  vari- 
ous countries;  in  some  cases,  modifications  in  view  of  im- 
proving health  conditions,  progress  of  civilization  and  sanita- 
tion, quicker  and  cheaper  travelling  facilities,  would  lead  to 
considerable  economy  on  the  part  of  Societies’  expenditure. 

In  other  countries  shorter  but  more  frequent  furloughs 
might  be  necessary. 

A useful  comparison  might  be  established  with  the  furloughs 
of  military  and  civil  servants. 

The  necessity  for  an  annual  holiday  and  regular  furloughs, 
and  their  relation  to  the  preservation  of  good  health,  would 
be  established. 

(c)  The  information  would  bring  into  prominence — 

(1)  The  chief  diseases  in  various  countries  and  risks  to 
health  which  missionaries  have  to  face,  and  against  which  they 
may  to  a large  extent  be  safeguarded. 

(2)  The  need  for  educating  all  missionaries  as  to  the 
nature,  mode  of  incidence  and  infection,  and  best  methods  of 
combating  such  diseases. 

(3)  The  need  in  some  cases  and  in  certain  countries  for 
taking  advantage  of  the  more  modern  methods  of  preventive 
inoculation  as  a means  of  protection. 

(4)  The  necessity  for  issuing  from  time  to  time  health  regu- 
lations as  to  preventive  measures  against  disease  and  the  best 
methods  for  preservation  of  health. 


234 


APPENDIX  C 


It  is  gratifying  to  state  as  an  example  of  mutual  cooperation 
and  common  service,  a small  handbook,  Health  Regulations, 
for  missionaries,  has  been  issued  by  the  Association  of  Med- 
ical Officers  of  Missionary  Societies,  and  has  been  adopted 
with  slight  modifications  by  several  of  the  large  English  Mis- 
sionary Societies  for  distribution  to  each  of  their  mission- 
aries, and  is  under  consideration  by  others. 

(5)  A valuable  addition  to  our  knowledge  as  to  what 
period  of  service  abroad  is  most  pregnant  wfith  risks  to  health, 
whether  in  the  case  of  fresh  missionaries  a shorter  first 
period  of  service  would  be  advisable  or  not. 

(6)  The  indirect  benefit  to  both  missionaries  and  their 
Societies,  due  to  the  undoubtedly  more  favorable  terms  which 
Insurance  Societies  would  grant  to  missionary  life  proposals, 
at  any  rate  for  many  fields  of  wmrk ; a further  development 
might  take  place  of  Societies  insuring  their  own  missionaries 
against  ill-health,  premature  retirement,  breakdown  or  death. 

4.  Extract  from  Report  on  Causes  of  Death  Amongst 
Missionaries — Conclusion 

The  following  result  obtained  from  an  enquiry  authorized 
by  the  Association  of  Medical  Officers,  already  referred  to,  is 
of  great  value,  indicating,  as  it  does,  the  soundness  of  the 
contention  of  this  paper : 

A record  of  deaths  from  all  causes  in  missionaries  of  nearly 
all  the  large  Societies,  and  resident  in  all  parts  of  the  world 
where  missionary  activities  are  carried  on,  has  been  obtained. 
The  record  deals  with  such  cases  as  have  occurred  since  1890 
to  1908,  and  are  therefore  not  complicated  by  circumstances 
and  conditions  of  life  abroad  which  now  no  longer  exist. 

The  cause  of  death  in  561  missionaries  (men  and  women) 
are  stated ; of  these  349  died  from  diseases,  now  termed 
preventable  diseases — namely  those  against  which  many  safe- 
guards to  health  and  methods  of  prevention  can  be  applied, 
with  the  saving  of  life  as  a result. 

Malaria,  Enteric  (Typhoid),  Cholera,  Blackwater  Fever, 
Dysentery,  Tuberculosis.  Typhus  Fever,  and  Smallpox  are 
by  far  the  more  important  of  these  diseases  in  frequency  of 
occurrence. 

Of  the  missionaries  who  have  died  during  the  last  eighteen 
years  (1890-1908)  over  60  per  cent,  have  died  of  diseases 
against  which  there  are  many,  and  oftentimes  adequate,  safe- 
guards to  be  adopted. 


APPENDIX  C 


23  S 


They  died,  most  of  them,  ignorant  of  their  foe  and  unen- 
lightened as  to  how  to  preserve  their  own  health. 

Not  only  is  this  a wastage  of  life  which  can  and  surely 
must  be  checked,  but,  on  the  lowest  grounds,  it  is  a waste  of 
capital  expenditure. 

This  statement  represents  but  one  of  many  interesting  facts 
to  be  deduced  from  a study  of  such  statistics,  and  it  is  not 
too  much  to  hope  that  this  branch  of  the  Home  Department 
will  be  more  emphasized,  organized,  and  studied  in  the  future, 
60  that  lines  of  policy  may  be  established  on  surer  and  firmer 
foundations  than  in  the  past.1 

1 World  Missionary  Conference — 1910 — Volume  VI,  The  Home  Base, 
pages  2S6  to  290. 


APPENDIX  D 


IMPORTANT  RECOMMENDATIONS  FROM 
THE  MISSION  FIELD  REGARDING 
MEDICAL  WORK 

RECOMMENDATIONS  OF  THE  MEDICAL  MISSION- 
ARY ASSOCIATION  OF  CHINA 

(Adopted  at  the  triennial  meeting  of  the  Association. 

Peking,  January  13  to  17,  KFiJ- 

The  Medical  Missionary  Association  of  China  calls  the 
attention  of  Dr.  Mott,  as  representing  the  Continuation  Com- 
mittee, and  also  of  Home  Missionary  Societies,  to  the  follow- 
ing facts  and  suggestins : — 

1.  Medical  Missions  are  not  to  be  regarded  as  a temporary 
expedient  for  opening  the  way  for,  and  extending  the  influence 
of  the  Gospel,  but  as  an  integral,  co-ordinate  and  permanent 
part  of  the  missionary  work  of  the  Christian  Church,  as  was 
emphasized  in  the  resolutions  passed  by  the  Shanghai  Con- 
ference of  1907. 

2.  There  are  now  in  China  over  500  medical  missionaries, 
but  there  is  a lack  of  common  policy  among  the  Missionary 
Societies  in  the  utilization  and  distribution  of  these  forces. 
The  Association  would,  however,  deprecate  any  independent 
decision  on  the  part  of  the  Missionary  Societies  as  to  policy 
in  medical  missionary  work  without  consultation  with  this 
Association  through  its  Executive. 

3.  A most  important  feature  of  the  work  of  medical  mis- 
sions in  China  at  the  present  juncture  is  the  work  of  training 
Christian  young  men  and  women  that  they  may  take  their 
place  as  thoroughly  qualified  medical  missionaries  to  per- 
petuate the  work  we  have  begun,  and  to  occupy  positions  of 
influence  in  the  service  of  their  country. 

4.  The  Association  therefore  considers  that  the  object  of 
our  presence  here  can  now  best  be  advanced  by  concentrating 
our  energies  largely  on  the  important  centres  approved  by  the 
Association,  and  forming  there  efficient  union  medical  col- 

236 


APPENDIX  D 


237 


leges  and  specially  equipped  hospitals.  And  we  would 
strongly  recommend  that  all  such  colleges  be  affiliated  and  co- 
ordinated with  other  existing  missionary  educational  institu- 
tions. 

5.  The  Association  reiterates  its  Resolution  of  1907  as  to 
the  desirability  of  each  hospital  being  in  charge  of  two  fully 
qualified  medical  missionaries,  but  considers  that,  owing  to 
the  present  emergency,  and  the  urgency  for  medical  education, 
all  except  large  or  isolated  hospitals  should  be  put  in  charge 
of  one  foreign  doctor,  with,  if  possible,  one  or  more  fully 
qualified  Chinese. 

6.  The  Association  recommends  that  much  of  the  work  done 
in  the  less  important  stations  should,  wherever  practicable,  be 
placed  under  the  charge  of  qualified  Chinese;  that  mission- 
aries of  ability  and  experience  in  certain  instances  should  be 
called  in  from  these  stations  to  the  teaching  centres  to  take 
part  in  the  work  of  the  colleges  and  large  hospitals ; and  that 
the  staffing  and  thorough  equipment  of  these  centres  should 
take  precedence  of  the  opening  up  of  new  medical  work 
throughout  the  country. 

7.  A number  of  fully  qualified  men  and  women  are  scat- 
tered over  large  areas  without  proper  hospitals  or  equipment, 
and  this,  in  the  opinion  of  the  Association,  is  waste  of  effort 
and  money,  as  no  efficient  medical  missionary  work  can  be 
done  on  these  lines.  We  have  arrived  at  a stage  in  China 
when  all  medical  and  surgical  work  done  in  the  name  of 
Christianity  should  be  of  the  highest  order,  and  we  therefore 
recommend,  in  the  interests  of  economy  and  efficiency,  that 
wherever  possible  small  and  poorly  equipped  hospitals  should 
unite  to  form  thoroughly  equipped  institutions. 

8.  Recent  movements  in  China  have  developed  a natural 
desire  on  the  part  of  the  people  to  carry  out  their  own  educa- 
tional reform,  and  this  we  must  recognize,  and  make  the  for- 
eign element  in  our  work  as  little  prominent  as  possible  by 
having  our  Colleges  gradually  and  increasingly  staffed  and 
supported  by  the  Chinese  themselves. 

9.  The  Association  considers  that  the  minimum  staff  for 
efficient  work  in  a medical  college  should  be  ten  men  on  the 
field  giving  full  time.  This  means,  when  furloughs,  language 
study,  etc.,  are  taken  into  account,  a total  staff  of  at  least 
fifteen  fully  qualified  teachers,  foreign  or  Chinese. 

10.  The  Association  recommends  that  sufficient  lecture  room 
and  laboratory  accommodation  should  be  provided,  and  as 
liberal  an  equipment  as  possible  in  microscopes,  models,  patho- 


238 


APPENDIX  D 


logical  specimens,  etc.,  also  that  clinical  opportunities  to  the 
extent  of  three  beds  to  each  student  in  the  two  final  years  be 
considered  the  minimum. 

11.  The  Association  strongly  recommends  that  until  the 
undermentioned  union  medical  colleges  are  efficiently  staffed 
and  equipped  no  new  medical  colleges  be  started  in  China. 
The  schools  referred  to,  beginning  with  the  North,  are: — 
Moukden,  Peking,  Tsinanfu,  Chengtu,  Hankow,  Nanking, 
Hangchow,  Foochow  and  Canton. 

12.  In  order  to  retain  in  medical  missionary  service  the  best 
graduates  from  our  medical  colleges  we  wish  to  point  out  that 
it  will  be  necessary  to  give  much  larger  salaries  than  have 
usually  been  given. 

13.  As  medical  books  in  Chinese  are  necessary  in  order  to 
carry  on  the  instruction  in  our  colleges  and  to  provide  med- 
ical literature  for  graduates,  the  Association  would  urge  on 
the  Missionary  Societies  the  need  for  arranging  that  suitable 
men  should  devote  a large  part  of  their  time  to  the  work  of 
translating  and  preparing  such  books,  and  also  the  necessity 
for  money  grants  for  this  purpose. 

14.  The  Association  is  of  opinion  that  the  nursing  in  our 
hospitals  can  never  be  satisfactory  until  we  have  thoroughly 
trained  nurses;  that  a foreign  trained  nurse  should  be  asso- 
ciated with  each  large  hospital  wherever  possible,  and  that 
this  should  be  considered  indispensable  in  those  hospitals  which 
are  associated  with  the  work  of  medical  colleges. 

15.  The  following  resolution  was  passed  by  the  Association: 

Resolved,  That  we,  the  members  of  the  China  Medical  Mis- 
sionary Association,  met  in  Conference,  let  it  be  known: — 

(1)  That  in  establishing  medical  colleges  and  hospitals  our 

sole  object  is  to  bring  the  blessings  of  healing  to  the 
souls  and  bodies  of  the  people  of  China,  and  to  give 
a thorough  training  in  medicine  and  surgery  to  young 
men  and  women  of  education  and  intelligence,  enab- 
ling them  as  fully  qualified  doctors  to  be  of  the  high- 
est sendee  to  their  country. 

(2)  That  we  have  no  desire  to  create  permanently  foreign 

institutions,  and  that  our  aim  and  hope  is  that  these 
medical  colleges  will  gradually  and  ultimately  be 
staffed,  financed  and  controlled  by  the  Chinese  them- 
selves. 

(3)  That  we  are  desirous  of  bringing  our  teaching  work 

into  line  with  the  regulations  of  the  Ministry  of  Edu- 


APPENDIX  D 


239 


cation,  and  in  all  ways  to  co-operate  with  and  assist 
the  Government  of  the  Republic  in  medical  education, 
so  that  a strong  and  thoroughly  equipped  medical  pro- 
fession may  be  established  in  this  great  land. 

16.  In  conclusion,  the  members  of  the  China  Medical  Mis- 
sionary Association  take  advantage  of  this  their  first  oppor- 
tunity to  express  their  profound  disappointment  that  medical 
missions,  which  have  been  so  largely  blessed  of  God  as  a mis- 
sionary agency,  were  ignored  in  the  list  of  subjects  for  con- 
sideration at  the  Edinburgh  Conference  of  1910;  and  they 
strongly  urge  that  medical  missions  be  adequately  represented 
in  any  future  conference. 

17.  We  recommend  that  two  local  representatives  be  ap- 
pointed to  bring  forward  these  recommendations  at  the  vari- 
ous centres  where  conferences  with  Dr.  Mott  are  held.  These 
members  shall  be  chosen  from  those  who  have  attended  the 
Medical  Missionary  Conference  at  Peking.  Also  that  a com- 
mittee of  five  be  appointed  to  represent  the  Peking  Medical 
Conference  at  the  General  Conference  with  Dr.  Mott  at 
Shanghai ; and  that  copies  of  these  resolutions  be  sent  to  the 
Continuation  Committee,  and  to  all  home  Mission  Boards  and 
Committees  and  governing  bodies  on  the  field. 

FINDINGS  OF  THE  CONTINUATION  COMMITTEE 
CONFERENCE,  HELD  IN  KOREA  (CHOSEN), 
MARCH  25-28,  1913. 

“Medical  work  is  an  essential  part  of  the  Gospel. 

“Every  existing  hospital  should  have  two  doctors,  either 
Korean  or  foreign,  on  its  staff,  and  due  weight  should  be 
given  to  this  consideration  in  entertaining  proposals  for  open- 
ing new  hospitals.  Every  hospital  should  have  also  at  least 
one  foreign  nurse. 

“All  Missions  should  unite  in  giving  adequate  support  to 
the  Union  Medical  School  at  the  Severence  Hospital,  both  by 
setting  doctors  free  for  reasonable  periods  to  take  part  in 
teaching  and  by  devoting  funds  for  its  maintenance. 

“Medical  work  in  Korea  will  need  considerable  financial 
assistance  from  the  home  base  countries  for  a long  time  to 
come.  It  is  recommended  that  Mission  Boards  adopt  the  plan 
of  having  special  medical  funds. 

“A  sustained  effort  should  be  made  to  plant  the  Gospel  in 
the  Government  Medical  School  and  to  maintain  it  there  by 


240 


APPENDIX  D 


means  of  a branch  of  the  student  Young  Men’s  Christian 
Association. 

“Medical  work  by  the  Church  of  Christ  in  Korea  will  be 
necessary  at  least  until  in  this  land  the  spirit  of  all  medical 
work  whatsoever  is  the  spirit  of  Christ.” 

FINDINGS  OF  THE  CONTINUATION  COMMITTEE 
CONFERENCE  HELD  IN  INDIA, 
DECEMBER  18-21,  1912 

1.  “There  is  at  present  urgent  need  for  a reconsideration  on 
the  part  of  many  leaders  at  home  of  the  true  aims  and  scope 
of  medical  mission  work,  so  that  emphasis  on  its  humanitarian 
aspect  may  not  overshadow  its  value  for  direct  evangelization. 

2.  “According  to  recent  careful  estimates  at  least  100,000,000 
of  the  people  of  India  are  still  beyond  the  reach  of  the 
simplest  medical  aid. 

3.  “That  in  every  well-established  mission  hospital  there 
should  be  an  evangelistic  missionary,  Indian  or  European,  who 
may  assist  the  medical  staff  to  utilize  to  the  fullest  extent  the 
opportunities  afforded  by  the  work  in  the  hospital. 

“That  every  possible  effort  should  be  made  to  encourage  the 
closest  mutual  cooperation  of  the  evangelistic  and  medical 
forces  in  each  mission  area,  both  in  hospitals  and  in  district 
itinerating  work. 

4.  “That  medical  missions  are  an  integral  and  essential  part 
of  the  message  of  Christ  to  this  land  and  that  in  many  cases 
such  as  in  large  rural  tracts  and  unopened  fields  they  repre- 
sent the  most  effective  evangelistic  agency  at  present  available. 

“That  for  bringing  the  Gospel  message  into  vital  contact 
with  large  numbers  of  people  of  all  classes  who  from  age  and 
other  circumstances  are  unreached  by  educational  work,  for 
reaching  women  in  their  secluded  homes,  and  for  extensive 
evangelization  in  the  villages,  especially  in  connection  with 
mass  movements,  it  has  been  established  by  experience  that 
there  is  no  agency  more  powerful  than  that  of  medical  mis- 
sions. 

5.  “With  a view  to  ministering  to  the  multitudes  of  women 
in  India  who  are  as  yet  beyond  the  reach  both  of  medical 
relief  and  spiritual  help,  this  Conference  would  earnestly  press 
upon  the  home  church  the  need  for  strong  reenforcements  for 
women’s  medical  missions. 

6.  “That  the  training  of  all  Indian  medical  mission  workers 
of  whatever  grade  should  include  systematic  spiritual  instruc- 


APPENDIX  D 


241 


tion,  every  effort  being  made  to  arouse  in  them  the  true 
evangelistic  spirit  and  later  on  to  associate  them  closely  with 
the  medical  missionary  in  the  spiritual  side  of  the  work.” 

“This  Conference  views  with  the  greatest  concern  the  pres- 
ent falling  off  in  offers  for  medical  mission  service,  which 
renders  largely  inoperative  the  oft-repeated  and  vital  prin- 
ciple that,  both  for  efficiency  and  for  the  permanence  of  the 
work,  it  is  essential  that  at  each  considerable  hospital  there 
should  be  stationed  two  medical  missionaries  and  one  trained 
nurse.  The  shortage  of  medical  missionaries  is  at  present  so 
serious  that  many  mission  hospitals  stand  empty  for  long  or 
short  periods  owing  to  the  absence  on  furlough  or  from  sick- 
ness of  the  doctors  in  charge,  while  numberless  pressing 
opportunities  for  extensive  evangelization  are  being  lost. 

“This  Conference  believes  it  to  be  necessary  that  the  home 
authorities  should  enable  all  who  are  being  prepared  for  med- 
ical mission  work  to  acquire  special  training  in  ophthalmic  and 
general  surgery,  and  also  in  the  treatment  of  diseases  special 
to  the  tropics. 

“ The  question  of  the  isolation  and  efficient  treatment  of  the 
numerous  cases  of  tuberculosis  among  the  younger  generation 
of  the  Christian  community  (especially  in  mission  schools  and 
orphanages)  is  one  which  calls  for  earnest  consideration  on 
the  part  of  responsible  authorities  in  the  field.  In  this  con- 
nection the  efforts  now  being  made  to  establish  tuberculosis 
sanitoria  in  various  parts  of  India  for  the  special  treatment 
of  members  of  the  Indian  Christian  community  deserve  most 
grateful  recognition.  Such  institutions,  since  they  seek  to 
benefit  all  classes  of  Indian  Christians,  have  a strong  claim 
upon  the  support  of  the  various  Missions.” 


APPENDIX  E 


CHRISTIAN  HEALTH  EDUCATION  IN  CHINA 

By  Dr.  W.  W.  Peter,  Secretary  of  the  National  Committee  of 
the  Young  Men’s  Christian  Association  in  China 

Among  many  of  the  missionary  leaders  in  China 
there  has  been  a growing  consciousness  that  the  pres- 
ent situation  in  China  presents  a new  opportunity, 
nation-wide  in  its  scope  and  world-wide  in  its  possible 
influence.  The  time  seems  ripe  to  engage  with  the 
Chinese  in  promoting  health  education. 

Since  1916  there  has  been  working  in  this  field  the 
Joint  Council  on  Public  Health  Education,  represent- 
ing the  China  Medical  Missionary  Association,  the 
Young  Men’s  Christian  Association  and  the  National 
Medical  Association,  the  latter  organization  being 
composed  of  western  trained  Chinese  physicians  who 
organized  themselves  in  1915.  In  1919  the  Christian 
Educational  Association  of  China  also  voted  to  join 
the  Joint  Council. 

The  headquarters  of  the  Council  are  in  Shanghai. 
Dr.  Wu  Lien  Teh,  President  of  the  National  Medical 
Association,  is  Chairman ; Dr.  Robert  C.  Beebe, 
Executive  Secretary  of  the  China  Medical  Missionary 
Association,  and  Mr.  David  Yui,  General  Secretary  of 
the  National  Committee  of  the  Young  Men’s  Christian 
Association,  are  the  two  other  members  of  the  Execu- 
tive Committee.  Drs.  W.  W.  Peter  and  S.  M.  Woo 
are  the  Executive  Secretaries. 

Until  1919  the  money  for  the  work  of  the  Council 
was  provided  by  foreign  and  Chinese  physicians  in 

242 


APPENDIX  E 


243 


China  and  by  the  Young  Men’s  Christian  Association. 

On  January  27,  1917,  at  the  Bi-Annual  Conference 
of  the  China  Medical  Missionary  Association,  the 
following  resolution  was  passed  : 

“That  the  China  Medical  Mission  resolves  that  the  China 
Medical  Missionary  Association  appeal  to  the  missionary 
societies  now  at  work  in  China  to  send  out  or  allocate  men 
of  the  necessary  qualifications  to  undertake  under  the  direc- 
tion of  the  China  Medical  Missionary  Association  the  leader- 
ship in  a nation-wide  campaign  of  public  health  education  and 
to  provide  the  financial  support  needed.” 

On  January  17,  1918,  at  the  25th  Annual  Session  of 
the  Foreign  Missions  Conference  of  North  America, 
the  following  action  was  taken : 

“Resolved,  that  with  respect  to  the  resolution  adopted  by 
the  China  Medical  Missionary  Association,  January  27,  1917, 
appealing  to  missionary  societies  to  support  a nation-wide 
campaign  of  public  health  education  in  China,  the  Foreign 
Missions  Conference  expresses  deep  interest  in  the  proposed 
campaign  and  commends  the  movement  to  the  sympathetic 
consideration  of  such  Boards  as  may  be  approached.” 

Already  a number  of  missionary  societies  have 
pledged  their  support  to  this  work.  A number  are 
considering  the  proposal,  but  the  following  have  al- 
ready endorsed  the  work  and  pledged  the  following 
sums,  annually  for  a period  of  three  years : 


Free  Methodist  $ 100 

Evangelical  Associations  600 

American  Baptist  (North) 1,000 

Presbyterian  (North)  1,000 

Methodist  (North)  1,000 

Methodist  (South,  Woman’s  Council) 2,400 

International  Committee  Y.  M.  C.  A 5, 000 


A beginning  has  been  made  in  developing  five 
methods  of  work  in  China. 

In  its  headquarters  at  Shanghai  the  Council  has 


244 


APPENDIX  E 


over  500  negatives  on  health  subjects  which  are  at  the 
service  of  missionaries  and  ethers  throughout  the 
country.  Lectures  have  been  prepared  with  English 
and  Chinese  manuscript  on  such  subjects  as:  Sanita- 
tion of  the  Chinese  Cities ; Flies  Kill  People ; Plague ; 
Infectious  Diseases;  Small-pox;  and  The  Work  of 
Health  Education  in  China. 

A demand  for  literature  on  health  subjects  has 
existed  for  a long  time.  Six  and  one-half  tons  of 
paper  were  used  in  printing  430,000  copies  of  a large 
anti-tuberculosis  story  calendar  which  was  sold  in 
every  province  in  China  and  in  some  foreign  countries. 
Several  editions  of  a book  prepared  by  Dr.  F.  J. 
Tooker,  “Hygiene  by  Picture  and  Story”,  have  already 
been  exhausted.  The  Chinese  Executive  Secretary 
has  given  considerable  new  literature  in  this  field  to 
the  doctors  and  teachers.  Eighteen  newspaper  articles 
were  prepared  and  used  in  different  parts  of  the 
country. 

Small  portable  health  exhibits  are  in  the  process  of 
preparation  whereby  medical  missionaries  or  teachers 
will  be  enabled  to  hold  small  health  campaigns  in 
connection  with  their  regular  work. 

A number  of  large  health  campaigns  have  been  held. 
In  Changsha  thirty-six  meetings  were  held  in  one  week, 
attended  by  30,000  people.  Twenty  thousand  dollars 
was  raised  for  land  and  buildings  to  erect  a tubercu- 
losis sanitarium.  In  Canton  the  number  of  vaccina- 
tions for  small-pox  was  raised  from  the  highest  mark 
of  92  for  one  day  to  over  800  per  day. 

The  question  naturally  arises,  why  should  the  Chris- 
tian church  engage  in  this  work  of  health  education? 
The  million  and  a quarter  dollars  which  the  Christian 
church  sends  into  China  annually  for  medical  work 
applies  to  up-keep  and  does  not  include  capital  invest- 
ment, such  as  buildings  and  other  new  equipment. 


APPENDIX  E 


245 


While  undoubtedly  a great  deal  of  disease  prevention 
and  health  education  are  accomplished,  most  of  these 
hospitals  are  primarily  rescue  stations  placed  at  the 
bottom  of  an  invisible  cliff  to  heal  the  people  from 
disease  after  they  have  fallen  over.  There  are  as  yet 
no  agencies  in  China  adequately  occupying  the  top  of 
the  cliff  to  warn  the  people  and  help  them  erect  bar- 
riers to  prevent  the  wastage  of  human  life  which  has 
existed  for  so  many  years.  Incidentally,  the  Christian 
church  itself  sustains  a large  annual  loss  from  death 
in  the  Chinese  membership  of  the  church  and  the  lead- 
ers among  the  Chinese  men  and  women  in  whom  the 
missionaries  and  home  boards  have  placed  great 
confidence.  The  records  of  the  China  Continuation 
Committee  in  Shanghai  are  full  of  names  of  men  and 
women  who  died  prematurely  from  some  preventable 
disease. 

It  is  during  the  initial  stages  of  such  a health  move- 
ment that  men  and  money  from  other  countries  are 
most  needed.  While  there  are  other  agencies  of  a 
more  general  nature  such  as  the  American  Red  Cross 
Society,  the  United  States  Public  Health  Service,  the 
China  Medical  Board  of  the  Rockefeller  Foundation, 
and  the  International  Health  Board  of  the  Rockefeller 
Foundation,  which  are  interesting  themselves  in  certain 
problems  in  China,  it  is  the  expression  of  the  medical 
missionaries  of  China  that  the  Christian  church, 
through  its  Foreign  Mission  Boards,  should  engage  in 
this  work  of  health  education.  They  prefaced  their 
request  by  first  subscribing  $3,000  a year  Mexican  for 
two  years  in  order  to  secure  the  first  Chinese  western 
trained  leader,  Dr.  S.  M.  Woo.  His  work  was  so 
acceptable  that  he  was  re-engaged  at  the  close  of  the 
two  years. 

The  beginning  has  already  been  made  to  make  this 
movement  indigenous  through  Chinese  leadership  and 


246 


APPENDIX  E 


support.  Chinese  physicians  contributed  $3,000  a year 
for  two  years;  also  for  the  support  of  Dr.  Woo. 
This  is  not  only  an  example  of  co-operation  between 
Chinese  and  foreigners,  but  between  foreigners  of  dif- 
ferent denominational  relationships.  By  rendering 
this  particular  service  the  non-Christian  people  of  the 
Orient  will  be  enabled  to  see  that  the  out-reach  of 
Christianity  includes  a consideration  of  those  social 
problems  which  relate  to  the  life  of  the  people.  There 
is  a very  bright  outlook  indeed  for  this,  one  of  the 
newest  forms  of  missionary  work  in  China. 


APPENDIX  F 


MEDICAL  MISSIONARY  SOCIETIES 

On  the  mission  fields  are  the  following  Medical 
Missionary  Societies: 


THE  CHINA  MEDICAL  MISSIONARY  ASSOCIATION 

Executive  Secretary : Robert  C.  Beebe,  M.D.,  5 Quinsan 
Gardens,  Shanghai. 


THE  NURSES’  ASSOCIATION  OF  CHINA 

General  Secretary : Miss  L.  A.  Batty,  5 Quinsan  Gardens, 
Shanghai. 


MEDICAL  MISSIONARY  ASSOCIATION  OF  INDIA 
Secretary:  A.  Lankester,  M.D.,  Hyderabad,  Deccan. 

Missionary  nurses  are  members  of  this  Medical  Missionary 
Association. 


247 


APPENDIX  G 


LEGAL  REGULATIONS  REGARDING  THE 
PRACTICE  OF  MEDICINE  IN  VARIOUS 
MISSION  LANDS 

These  regulations  are  abstracted  from  “ Laws  regu- 
lating the  Practice  of  Medicine  in  the  United  States 
and  Elsewhere.”  July  15th,  1919,  published  by  the 
American  Medical  Association. 

In  many  instances  the  restrictions  will  seem  almost 
prohibitive  for  our  American  physicians,  but  practical 
adjustments  with  government  officials  can  usually  be 
made  that  will  allow  sufficient  freedom  in  his  practice 
to  one  who  is  engaged  in  missionary  work.  The  laws 
apply  primarily  to  one  engaged  in  practice  as  a means 
of  livelihood. 

AFRICA 

East  and  West  Coasts 

No  regulations.  Government’s  efforts  exerted  toward  stopping 
witch  doctors  and  native  medicine  men. 

South  Africa — Cape  Colony 

Medical  practice  under  the  control  of  the  Colonial  Medical 
Council. 

Admission  to  register  is  given  on  a diploma  of  5 years’  study. 
Foreign  diplomas  not  honored  unless  equal  rights  are  given  in 
such  countries  to  holders  of  British  Registrable  Degree. 
(A)  Madagascar,  (B)  Natal,  (C)  Rhodesia,  (D)  Transvalia, 
and  (E)  Orange  River  Colony  are  governed  by  the  same 
rules. 


CEYLON 

Registration  is  required  to  practise  and  any  one  not  so  quali- 
fied who  proposes  to  practise  or  hold  himself  as  ready  to 
treat  patients  is  liable  to  prosecution. 

Register  is  in  charge  of  the  Ceylon  Medical  College. 

248 


APPENDIX  G 


249 


No  foreign  degrees  of  qualification  are  acceptable  unless  the 
foreign  state  or  country  recognizes  the  certificate  of 
Ceylon. 

CHINA 

No  legal  restrictions  or  regulations  govern  the  practise  of 
medicine  in  China. 

FIJI  ISLANDS 

Now  provides  medical  education  for  natives. 

Medical  practise  now  controlled  by  government  and  registra- 
tion is  required.  Any  one  entitled  to  practise  in  the 
United  Kingdom  or  British  Colonies  may  claim  admis- 
sion. 

INDIA 

A foreign  physician  to  obtain  a license  must  pass  examinations. 
He  must  have  graduated  from  a medical  college  recognized 
by  the  General  Medical  Council.  The  government  wel- 
comes the  work  of  American  Medical  Missionaries. 

JAPAN 

Foreign  physicians  must  secure  license  from  Minister  of  the 
Interior. 

Examination  in  Japanese. 

Four  years  of  medical  study  required. 

Physician  required  to  keep  all  records  of  all  patients  for  ten 
years. 

LATIN  AMERICA 

Argentine  Republic 

Physicians  from  foreign  countries  required  to  pass  full  series 
of  examinations. 

Examinations  in  the  Spanish  language. 

Diplomas  from  colleges  in  the  United  States  must  be  legalized 
by  the  Department  of  State  in  Washington,  D.  C.,  and 
must  be  vised  by  the  Argentine  Minister. 

Examinations  held  March,  July,  December. 

Bahama  Islands 

Registration  is  required  and  penalties  are  provided  for  prac- 
ticing without  first  being  registered. 

No  examination  is  required  where  applicant  presents  satis- 
factory credentials  of  graduation  from  a medical  school 
legally  incorporated  in  the  country  wherein  it  is  located. 


250 


APPENDIX  G 


Other  physicians  may  be  registered  as  “Unqualified  prac- 
titioners,” but  a list  of  such  is  posted  annually  in  the 
official  Gazette. 

Bermuda 

Registration  after  an  examination  is  required  of  all  applicants 
before  the  right  to  practise  is  conferred. 

Bolivia 

Foreign  candidates  take  examinations  in  Spanish. 

Same  license  registers  him  in  the  following  states,  (a)  Argen- 
tine, (b)  Peru,  (c)  Paraguay,  (d)  Ecuador,  (e)  Colombia, 
(f)  Chile. 

Brazil 

Unless  foreign  physician  has  been  a professor  in  a University 
Medical  School  or  is  the  author  of  an  important  medical 
book,  requirements  to  practise  are  almost  prohibitive. 

Must  undergo  examinations  in  Portuguese  in  all  branches  of 
medical  corriculum. 

British  Guiana 

Has  a thorough  medical  organization. 

Only  medical  men  who  are  already  registered  in  the  United 
Kingdom  are  admitted  to  the  register. 

Costa  Rica 

Foreign  physician  must  be  a graduate  of  an  allopathic  college. 

Must  deposit  a certain  sum  of  money. 

Must  take  an  examination  in  Spanish. 

Preliminary  education  required  is  that  demanded  for  a reputa- 
ble medical  school  in  the  United  States. 

Cuba 

Foreign  physician  must  present  his  degree  to  the  Department 
in  charge  of  Public  Industries. 

Degree  must  be  registered  by  the  University  of  Havana. 

Must  take  an  examination  in  Spanish.  Thesis  also  required. 

Dominican  Republic  and  Guatemala 

The  foreign  physician  must  apply  to  the  Superior  Medical 
Council  for  permission  to  practise. 

Examination  in  Spanish  must  be  taken. 

Haiti  and  Honduras 

Six-year  course  required. 

Examination. 


APPENDIX  G 


251 


Mexico 

Examinations  required.  Must  submit  a thesis. 

Nicaragua 

No  examination  required  for  foreign  doctor. 

Diploma  presented  must  have  signatures  acknowledged  before 
notary,  and  certified  by  secretary  of  state,  this  must  be 
certified  by  the  diplomatic  officer  in  the  United  States. 

Panama  and  San  Salvador 

Registration  to  practise  medicine  under  the  control  of  the 
National  Board  of  Health. 

Examination  required.  Also  assigned  thesis. 

Porto  Rico 

For  foreign  physicians  the  Board  of  Medical  Examiners  issues 
a certificate  of  registration  to  one  having  received  a 
diploma  from  a college. 

Must  pass  the  examination  given,  either  oral  or  written,  in 
English  or  in  Spanish.  There  are  three  forms  of  cer- 
tificates given:  (a)  Doctor  of  Medicine,  (b)  Licentiate 

of  Medicine,  (c)  Midwife. 

Venezuela 

Foreigners  must  present  diploma,  and  have  license  to  practise 
medicine  in  one  of  the  states  of  the  United  States,  or  from 
the  city  from  which  he  comes. 

Take  final  examinations  in  Portuguese. 

Yucatan 

Foreign  physicians  must  present  a diploma  from  a recognized 
medical  school  and  pass  an  examination  of  the  Board  of 
Medical  Examiners  at  Merida. 

Examination  oral,  given  in  Spanish  or  through  an  interpreter. 

Applicant  required  to  diagnose  and  prescribe  for  a certain 
number  of  patients  in  a hospital. 

PHILIPPINE  ISLANDS 

For  foreign  physicians  the  Board  of  Medical  Examiners  issues 
a certificate  of  registration  to  one  having  received  a 
diploma  from  a college. 

Must  pass  the  examination  given,  either  oral  or  written,  in 
English  or  in  Spanish.  There  are  three  forms  of  cer- 
tificate given:  (a)  Doctor  of  Medicine,  (b)  Licentiate 

of  Medicine,  (c)  Midwife, 


252 


APPENDIX  G 


SIAM 

There  are  no  legal  restrictions  to  the  practise  of  medicine. 
Opportunities  are  not  good  for  private  practise. 

TURKEY 

Foreign  physician  must  present  diploma  and  license  to  prac- 
tise in  one  of  the  states  of  the  United  States. 

Documents  must  be  legalized  by  the  Turkish  Consul  in  the 
United  States. 

Strict  oral  examination. 


APPENDIX  H 


BIBLIOGRAPHY 

Barnes,  Irene  H.  Between  Life  and  Death.  Marshall,  Lon- 
don, 1901. 

Barton,  James  L.  The  Medical  Missionary.  Am.  B.  C. 
F.  M.,  Boston. 

Blaikie,  W.  G.  The  Personal  Life  of  Livingstone.  Revell, 
N.  Y.,  1880. 

Bryson,  Mrs.  John  Kenneth  Mackenzie.  Revell,  N.  Y. 
Capen,  Edward  Warren,  Ph.D.  Sociological  Progress  in 
Mission  Lands.  The  author,  Hartford,  Conn. 

Christie,  'Dugald.  Thirty  Years  in  Moukden.  McBride,  Nast 
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de  Gruche,  Kingston.  Dr.  Apricot  of  Heaven  Below. 
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Dimmitt,  Delia.  A Story  of  Madeira.  Meth.  Book  Concern, 
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Eddy,  G.  S.  India  Awakening.  Missionary  Education  Move- 
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Edwards,  Martin  R.  The  Work  of  the  Medical  Missionary. 
Student  Volunteer  Movement. 

Glover,  Richard.  Herbert  Stanley  Jenkins,  M.D.,  F.R.C.S. 

The  Carey  Press,  London,  1914. 

Gracey,  Mfts.  J.  T.  Eminent  Missionary  Women.  Eaton  & 
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Griffis,  W.  E.  Hepburn  of  Japan.  Westminster  Press,  Phil- 
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Halsey,  Abram  Woodruff.  Go  and  Tell  John.  Presby- 
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Halsey,  Abram  Woodruff.  Presbyterian  Medical  Missions. 

Murray  & Evenden,  London,  1912. 

Hodgkin,  Henry  T.  The  Way  of  the  Good  Physician. 

United  Council  for  Miss.  Educ.,  London,  1916. 
Hume-Griffith,  Mrs.  M.  Behind  the  Veil  in  Persia  and 
Turkish  Arabia.  Lippincott,  Philadelphia,  1909. 

Jackson,  John.  Lepers:  Thirty-six  Years  Among  Them. 

Marshall,  London,  1910. 


253 


254 


APPENDIX  H 


Jackson,  John.  Mary  Reed,  Missionary  to  Lepers.  Revell, 
N.  Y.,  1900. 

Jefferys,  Wm.  Hamilton.  Practical  Ideals  in  Medical  Mis- 
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Kelly,  Howard  A.  Walter  Reed  and  Yellow  Fever.  Medical 
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Kerr,  J.  G.  Medical  Missions.  Pres.  Board  of  Pub.,  Phila- 
delphia, 1895. 

Kerr,  Robert.  Morocco  After  Twenty-Five  Years.  Murray 
& Evenden,  London,  1912. 

Kilborn,  O.  L.  Heal  the  Sick.  Miss.  Soc.  Meth.  Church, 
Toronto,  1910. 

Lockhart,  Wm.  A Medical  Missionary  in  China.  Hurst, 
London,  1861. 

Loftis,  Zenas  Sanford.  A Message  from  Batang.  Revell, 
N.  Y.,  1911. 

Lowe,  John.  Medical  Missions — Their  Place  and  Power. 
Oliphant,  Edinburgh,  1895. 

Mackay,  George  L.  From  Far  Formosa.  Revell,  N.  Y.,  1900. 

Manson,  Sir  Patrick.  Tropical  Diseases.  Cassell,  N.  Y., 
1898. 

McDill,  John  R.  Tropical  Surgery.  Kimpton,  Glasgow, 
1918. 

McLean,  Archibald.  Epoch  Makers  of  Medical  Missions. 
Revell,  N.  Y.,  1912. 

Moorshead,  R.  Fletcher.  The  Appeal  of  Medical  Missions. 
Revell,  N.  Y.,  1913. 

Munson,  Arley.  Jungle  Days:  Experiences  of  an  American 
Woman  Doctor  in  India.  Appleton  & Co.,  N.  Y.,  1913. 

Osgood,  Elliot  I.  Breaking  Down  Chinese  Walls.  Revell, 
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Peill,  Rev.  J.  The  Beloved  Physician  of  Tsang  Chou:  Life- 
Work  and  Letters  of  Dr.  Arthur  D.  Peill.  Headley  Bros., 
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Pennell,  A.  M.  Pennell  of  the  Afghan  Frontier.  Dutton, 
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Penrose,  Valeria  P\  Opportunities  in  the  Path  of  the  Great 
Physician.  Westminster  Press,  Philadelphia,  1902. 

Perkins,  Edward  C.  A Glimpse  of  the  Heart  of  China. 
Revell,  N.  Y.,  1911. 

Ramsey,  W.  M.,  Kt.  Luke,  the  Physician,  Geo,  H.  Doran 
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APPENDIX  PI 


255 


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Tachell,  W.  Arthur.  Healing  and  Saving:  The  Life  Story 
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Ussher,  Clarence  D.  & Knapp,  Grace  H.  An  American 
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Wanless,  W.  J.  The  Medical  Mission.  Westminster  Press, 
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Worcester,  Elwood  C.  Religion  and  Medicine.  Grosset  & 
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PERIODICALS,  REPORTS,  ETC. 

American  Journal  of  Nursing. 

Board  of  Missionary  Preparation,  Third  Report. 

China  Mission  Year  Books. 

Continuation  Committee  Conferences  in  Asia. 
International  Review  of  Missions. 

Reports  of  Student  Volunteer  Conventions,  1902,  1906, 
1910,  1914,  1920. 

Student  Volunteer  Movement  Bulletin. 

Medicine  in  China — Report  of  Rockefeller  Commission. 
The  Missionary  Review  of  the  World. 


LIST  OF  MEDICAL  PERIODICALS,  PUBLISHED  IN 
ENGLISH  IN  MISSION  LANDS,  OR  BEARING 
ON  PROBLEMS  OF  MISSION  LANDS 

AFRICA: 

1.  “South  Africa  Medical  Record,”  published  monthly 

since  1903  in  Cape  Town,  South  Africa,  by  W. 
Darby-Hartley. 

2.  “Medical  Journal  of  South  Africa,”  published  monthly 

in  Johannesburg,  Transvaal  Colony,  East  Central 
Africa,  price  1 pound,  one  shilling;  annually. 


2j6 


APPENDIX  H 


CHINA : 

3.  “The  China  Medical  Journal,”  a bi-monthly  published 

by  the  China  Medical  Missionary  Association, 
since  1887  in  Shanghai,  China,  Dr.  Robert  C. 
Beebe,  Manager.  Price  $5.00  Shanghai  currency. 

4.  “The  China  Maritime  Customs  Medical  Reports,”  pub- 

lished annually  since  1877.  Lately  published  in 
“The  China  Medical  Journal.” 

INDIA : 

5.  “The  India  Journal  of  Medical  Research,”  a monthly 

edited  by  the  Director-General  of  the  India  Med- 
ical Service.  Published  in  Calcutta,  Bengal, 
India,  since  1913.  Per  copy  price  is  2 rupees. 

6.  “The  Indian  Medical  Gazette,”  published  monthly  in 

Calcutta,  Bengal,  India,  since  1866.  The  price  is 
14  rupees  a year,  with  2 rupees  extra  for  postage 
outside  of  India. 

7.  “The  Indian  Medical  Record,”  published  in  Calcutta, 

Bengal,  India,  since  1890. 

8.  “The  Hospital  Assistant,”  published  monthly  in  Kol- 

hapur, Bombay,  India,  since  1906. 

9.  “Medical  Missions  in  India.”  The  organ  of  the  India 

Medical  Missionary  Association.  Editor  is  Rev. 
J.  M.  MacPhail,  M.D.,  Bamdah,  India.  Secretary, 
A.  Lancaster,  M.D.,  Hyderabad,  Deccan,  India. 
PHILIPPINE  ISLANDS: 

10.  “Philippine  Journal  of  Science,”  Section  B.  This  is 

a scientific  journal  with  ten  numbers  annually, 
published  in  Manila  since  1906.  Section  B is  de- 
voted to  medical  science.  The  other  sections  to 
natural  sciences,  etc. 

JAPAN : 

11.  “Sei-i-kwai  Medical  Journal,”  published  monthly  in 

Tokyo,  Japan,  since  1882. 

GENERAL : 

12.  “The  Journal  of  Tropical  Medicine  and  Hygiene,”  a 

bi-monthly  published  in  London  since  1898.  Price 
21  shillings  a year. 

13.  “Annals  of  Tropical  Medicine  and  Parasitology.” 

This  is  issued  by  the  Liverpool  School  of  Trop- 
ical Medicine.  Liverpool,  England.  Price  I 
pound,  2 shillings,  6 pence  per  year. 


APPENDIX  H 


257 


MEXICO : 

14.  There  are  five  current  journals  on  medicine  and 

allied  subjects,  published  in  this  country,  accord- 
ing to  the  index  of  the  Surgeon  General's  office, 
but  none  of  these  is  in  English. 

SOUTH  AMERICA: 

15.  There  are  fifty-nine  journals  listed  in  the  Surgeon 

General’s  index,  published  in  various  countries  of 
South  America.  Many  of  these  are  not  now  cur- 
rent, and  none  is  published  in  English. 


TURKEY : 

16.  There  is  one  current  medical  journal  published  in 
Constantinople,  Turkey,  in  French. 


INDEX 


A. 

Achievements  of  medical  mission- 
aries, 107-109. 

Adams,  J.  E.,  quoted,  2x1-212. 

Africa  Inland  Mission,  23. 

Africa,  need  of  medical  missions 
in,  22,  24,  63,  64,  143,  177. 

Aim  and  Scope  of  Medical  Mis- 
sions, 53-74. 

Alcohol.  26-28. 

Allen,  Dr.  H.  N.,  108,  169,  211. 

American  Presbyterian  Hospital, 
Miraj,  India,  128. 

Armenia,  need  of  medical  mission- 
aries in,  21,  177. 

Avison,  Dr.  O.  R.,  170. 

Acupuncture,  14. 

B. 

Balme,  Dr.  Harold,  182. 

Barnes,  Irene  H.,  quoted,  154,  179. 

Barton,  James  L.,  quoted,  53,  58, 
109,  152. 

Beebe,  Dr.  Robert  C.,  184. 

Beilly,  Miss,  136. 

Beirut  Medical  College,  36. 

Berry,  Dr.  John  C.,  152,  212. 

Bishop,  Isabella  B.,  quoted,  5,  34, 
137,  140. 

Board  of  Missionary  Preparation, 
quoted,  87,  89. 

Bonfield,  Dr.  G.  H.,  20. 

Bosworth,  E.  I.,  quoted,  65. 

Bowman,  Miss  Willie,  155. 

Brent,  Bishop,  quoted,  47,  48. 

Bryson,  Mrs.  I.,  quoted,  206. 

Bulleyn,  Dr.  William,  173. 

Butler,  Dr.  Fanny  J.,  137-139. 

c. 

Cambridge  Band,  The,  208. 

Candidates  for  Medical  Mission 
Work,  77-92;  the  call,  77-80; 
qualifications,  80-87;  preparation, 
87-92. 

Carey,  William,  107,  110,  203. 

Challenge  to  Medical  Missionary 
work,  163-189;  challenge  of  the 
changing  world  order,  164-168; 
challenge  of  various  fields,  168- 
1 8 x ; challenge  of  pressing  prob- 
lems, 181-189. 

Chapel,  121-122. 

Chen,  Dr.  S.  P.,  70. 


China,  lack  of  native  resources 
for  relief,  13-14;  discovery  of 
medicines,  15-16;  a challenge  to 
faith,  1 7 1. 

China  Medical  Board,  185,  187. 

Chinese  Medical  Missionary  So- 
ciety, 127. 

Christie,  Mrs.  Duga'd,  quoted.  145. 

Church  Missionary  Society,  22,  34, 
60,  64. 

Cholera  Infantum,  157. 

Cochran,  Joseph  P.,  37,  42,  59,  72- 
73,  quoted,  82,  124,  180. 

Cochran,  Thomas,  1S4,  185,  186. 

Colledge,  T.  H.,  m. 

Combs,  I.ucinda  L.,  137,  139. 

Cook,  Albert,  146. 

Cooperation  in  medical  work,  183- 
184. 

Cousiand,  Dr.  P.  B.,  119. 

Cram,  W.  G.,  38-39. 

Crawford,  Dan,  quoted,  93. 

Chloroform,  16-17. 

Cataract,  129,  130. 


D. 

Darwin,^  Charles,  quoted,  17. 
Datta,  S.  K.,  quoted,  24. 

Denby,  Hon.  Charles,  quoted,  67. 
Dennis,  Archdeacon,  quoted,  22. 
Dentistry,  18-19,  90. 

Diseases  of  the  non-Christian 
_world,  7-12,  69,  70,  157,  170. 
Dispensary,  The,  64,  121,  137,  157. 
Drugs,  discovery  and  application 
of,  16-17. 

Dudgeon,  Dr.,  119. 

Dufferin,  Lady,  136. 

Dysentery,  7. 


E. 

Eddy,  Mary  P.,  36,  47. 

Eddy,  Sherwood,  quoted,  24,  174, 
17S. 

Edinburgh  Medical  Missionary  So- 
ciety, 112. 

Edinburgh  World  Missionary  Con- 
ference, 19. 

Edkins,  Dr.,  119. 

Elmslie,  Dr.  W.  J.,  quoted,  34. 

Eng,  Dr.  Hu  King,.  150. 

Equipment  for  medical  missionary 
work,  182. 


259 


26o 


INDEX 


F. 

Fair,  Miss  Elda  M.,  177. 

Falconer,  Hon.  Ion  Keith-,  quoted, 
28. 

Fetishism,  25. 

Fields  Unoccupied  by  Medical 
Missions,  19-29;  population,  19; 
their  need  of  medical  mission- 
aries, 21-23;  typical  field  for 
medical  missions,  24-29. 

FUiaria  loa,  8. 

Fiske,  Fidelia,  103. 

Fortune  teller,  172. 

Fraser,  Sir  Andrew,  quoted,  175. 

Freemantle,  Canon,  56. 

Fryer,  John,  1 19. 

Fulton,  Dr.  Mary  H.,  119,  138. 

G. 

Gaynor,  Lucy,  33. 

Gladstone,  lion.  William  E.,  207. 

Goitre,  9. 

Goodrich,  Chauncey,  quoted,  179. 

Grant,  Dr.  Asahel,  22,  108,  113. 

Greer,  Bishop  David  H.,  quoted, 
213-213. 

Grenfell.  George,  64,  100,  107,217. 

Griffis,  W.  E„  quoted,  43,  78,  117. 

Griffith,  Dr.  A.  Ilume-,  10. 

GutzlafT.  Dr.  no-111. 

Grant,  David,  35. 

H. 

TTannington,  Bishop,  64. 

Hanson,  C.  B.,  45-46. 

Ilaygood,  Laura,  158. 

Headland,  Isaac,  quoted,  is,  16, 
119,  215. 

Ilepburn,  J.  C.,  40,  78,  82,  117, 
118,  203,  204,  212. 

TTobson,  Dr.  B.,  119. 

Hodgkin,  Dr.  Henry  T.,  124. 

Holmes,  Dr.  G.  W.,  37. 

Home  Base  of  Medical  Missions, 
1 8 1 . 

Hook-worm,  8. 

Horder,  Dr.,  11. 

Hospitals,  evangelizing  centres, 
60-64,  125-127;  importance  of, 

122-125;  cost  of.  127-128;  Pek- 
ing, China,  8;  Soochow,  China, 
17,  127,  188;  Miral.  India.  128; 
Tarn  Taren,  154;  Seoul,  Korea, 
170. 

Howard,  Leonore,  137,  217. 

Huxley,  William,  quoted,  205. 

I. 

Ivey  Methodist  Hospital,  170. 

India,  medical  need  in,  23-24;  a 
challenge  to  Christian  states- 
manship, 174-175. 

Insanity,  10-11,  22,  144-145. 

Irvin,  Dr.,  quoted,  12. 


J. 

Jackson,  Arthur,  35,  212. 

James,  William,  quoted,  102,  200, 
206. 

Jefferson,  Charles  E.,  quoted,  152, 
198. 

enner.  Dr.,  in. 
ohnston.  Sir  Harry,  120. 
uarez,  Sosthenes,  202. 
udson,  Adoniram,  203. 
apan,  industrial  growth  a men- 
ace in,  167. 


K. 

Kahn,  Dr.  Ida,  1 50. 

Kahn,  Jahan,  61-62. 

Kalley,  Dr.  Robert  R.,  114-116. 
Keen,  Dr.  W.  W.,  69. 

Kelley,  Dr.  Howard  A.,  quoted, 
70,  203. 

Kerr,  Dr.  J.  G.,  36,  40,  103,  108, 
112,  119,  129,  210,  212. 

King,  Henry  C.,  quoted,  50,  81, 
209,  217. 

King,  Howard,  108. 

Kipling,  Rudyard,  quoted,  23-24. 
Kitchener,  Lord,  quoted,  81. 
Krishna  Pal,  107,  110. 

Kugler,  Dr.  Anna  S.,  148. 

Kumm,  Karl,  22. 


L. 

Lady  Dufferin  Hospitals,  23,  136, 
149. 

Lamaism.  20. 

Laurie,  Dr.  Thomas,  114. 

Latin  America,  medical  need  in, 
142;  demand  for  nurses  in,  153- 
154- 

Legge,  Dr.  Alexander,  119. 

Leprosy,  8,  11-12,  62,  68,  69,  109. 

Lin  Yin  Monastery,  71. 

Livingstone,  David,  107,  210,  211, 
quoted,  47,  49,  50,  79,  81,  218. 

Loftis,  Z.  S.,  108,  217. 

Lowe,  John,  quoted,  55,  92,  93, 
112. 

Lyon,  Mar}’,  158. 


M. 

McCall,  Dr.  P.  L.,  quoted,  67. 
McCartee,  Dr.  B.,  41. 

McDill,  Dr.  John  R.,  8,  41,  185. 
Mabie,  Dr.  Catherine  L.,  87. 
Mackay,  Dr.  George  L.,  9,  19, 

quoted,  14. 

Mackenzie,  Kenneth,  47,  137,  169, 
206.  211,  quoted,  59,  83,  85. 
Malarial  fever,  9-10. 

Maliza,  the  Toro  Princess,  146. 
Main,  Dr.  Duncan,  71;  quoted,  83, 
125,  126. 


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